Once Upon A Time Girl
by SpyralHax
Summary: Based on Kagura's idea to 'improve' Gintama from episode 50. An emotionally stricken young girl meets a carefree young man. Can it be a truly destined meeting? Gintoki x Kagura fluff all the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 01**

**Rating: K**

**Pairing: What else would you expect from yours truly?**

**This will be the first chapter of this story, based on Kagura's idea for improving Gintama in episode 50. "Gintama: Once Upon A Time In China Girl" just seemed to speak to me, and so I ran with it. If the characters seem OOC, then blame Kagura-chan for that :P Not sure how long it will go, but probably about 10 or so. Picks up with the middle portion of her little story, where she meets our favorite samurai. This one is mostly just introdution and stuff, next time will have some good fluff. Enjoy the beginning of the story, all.

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She was all alone. Again. It still didn't quite feel normal. Didn't seem real. Like it was all just a really agonizing, depressing dream. The crack of the gunshot still rung in her ears, taunting her with its thunderous roar. The pair of glasses falling aimlessly through the air, their owner collapsing in a heap of agony. She could still feel as the life drained from his body, before his time.

It was not new to her that people could be cruel, and often did things for no reason. Yet, it somehow came as a surprise when it had happened to her. It was the kind of thing you always read about, and simply shook your head in disappointment. But you never think it can happen to you. That someone can be taken from you with the ease of pulling a trigger.

But it can happen. It had happened to her, and even now, several days later, her eyes still stung. They still felt raw and hot with tears, her vision slightly blurred behind a veil of salty liquid. Even though she had long past shed all her tears, her heart still ached. As she willed her feet to move, propelling her forward, the girl realized that she had nowhere to go. No destination.

The dark, cool sky around her seemed to follow her mood, and she stopped for an instant. The first drop of rain from this storm landed on her right cheek, providing a light shudder from the suddenness. Bringing her hand to the spot, she felt another little patter of water against her hand, cooling her seemingly burning skin. She thought about moving, instead choosing to stand in place a bit longer.

Turning her head to the sky, she watched the rain as it began to gather in intensity, the clear dots dripping all around her. The sky filled with the life giving fluid, its ability to wash away all things something that she was welcoming. She wanted it to wash away her pain, her agony, her loneliness.

Each drop of rain added itself aimlessly to her clothing, not taking long to soak clear through the red fabric. The pink of her shawl served to protect her red locks, but not for long. A very light, weak smile crossed her lips as she let the water wash over her, cooling her skin with its light touch.

It was oddly peaceful, and she strongly wanted to simply stay there, letting the clear water wash away her heart's scars. But she knew that was not good. Turning her gaze ahead of her, the girl let her eyes dart from side to side, taking in the dingy street. The poor looking booths to either side of her where merchants sold their wares. The whole scene was so sad, the dirt street turning into a muddy alley.

Her heart slowed a bit, her body sensing each individual beat as she slowly began to trudge forward. She didn't know where she would go, who she could turn to, but still she moved. Every step was its own new agony, each splash of water beneath her feet antagonizing her further. How could the world continue on like nothing had happened, while she was suffering all on her own?

How could people be so indifferent? Did they not realize that it was something that could happen to any one of them? She wanted to scream at them, to straighten them out. She wanted someone to share her agony, her pain, her stress. But there was no one. The dark gray of the buildings around her blurred with the gray of the sky, a light shiver coming over her from her cold, damp clothing.

That didn't matter to her though. Maybe if she got sick, she would be able to see him again. The thought brought a slight smile back to her face, before the tears threatened to spill out again. Shaking her head, she willed them back. She didn't want to cry anymore, didn't want to suffer anymore. The smile fell quickly, replaced with a sad frown.

With each step, she watched as the mud gave way around her feet, creating new, small puddles wherever she walked. It was a small thing, to make an impact in such a small way on the large planet. Small, yet still amazing as the thought swirled in her mind. Even a small impact is still an impact, though fleeting.

The people around seemed to almost vanish, dropping into the background as she walked. They paid her no attention, and so she would treat them the same. She felt her usually soft red hair pressing against her skin, the water holding it in place. It was the same for her clothing, soaked through to her undergarments. She wondered for a brief instant if the red coloring would seep through, staining the white beneath it.

Imagining the running red fluid brought back unwanted memories, of a thicker red fluid pooling beneath a prone form. The shivers in her body got stronger, and she had to fight her hardest to keep the tears in place this time. Everything seemed to be giving her memories of that day, each one seemingly trying to rip her fragile heart to shreds. Why was life making her suffer so much? Had she done something so unforgivable that the cosmos deemed it necessary for her to be so alone?

With that thought in mind, the girl forced herself forward, to some unknown destination. Some future that might provide some relief from her pain. She wanted, more than anything, to let go of the pain, to find some happiness. But the more she tried to let it go, the harder her heart seemed to grip it. Like even her own body was working against her.

Tucking her hands beneath her arms, crossed against her stomach, the red head tried to warm her petite body. All her body heat seemed to simply slip into the air, replaced with the coldness of the rain. Breathing became a bit more difficult, her teeth chattering lightly in the cold. The dirty sights around her made her feel even more miserable, making her miss the comforts of her small home she had shared with him.

The cold, wet fabric brushed carelessly against her soft, pale skin, and she could feel the little color she had in her skin leave. The rosy pink of her lips replaced with a soft blue, a similar hue beneath her fingernails. She watched as her warm breath rose from her lips, visible like smoke in front of her normally clear blue eyes. Just then, out of the edge of her vision, a sight that was completely out of place in such a poor area came into view.

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Brows furrowed in frustration, the young man tried to fix his hair. No matter what he tried, the silver locks refused to style for any significant amount of time. He cursed his natural perm, wishing to have a more normal hairstyle. With a heavy sigh, he gave up, dropping his hands from the messy hair.

He watched as it fell into its usual configuration, a look that worked for him, he had to admit. Giving himself a last minute inspection in the mirror, he noticed his tie was a bit off. Straightening the blue piece of cloth, he then smirked at his appearance. Even though it was not something he enjoyed doing often, he knew he looked quite good in formal wear.

It was rare the occasion which called for him to dress up, but he occasionally had to put in for appearances. His friend Tatsuma often threw ridiculous parties, with an elaborateness that he didn't much care for. But as it was for one of his oldest friends, he felt somehow compelled to attend. It was strange that someone as absent minded as that could somehow run such a large, successful company.

'_But he's not really the brains behind the operation.'_ he added to himself, smirking at the thought of the so-called "second in command" of their operation. The young woman was strong and serious, two qualities one would never be likely to connect to the leader, with his idiotic laughter, his bad memory, and overall carelessness.

Even though he was the wrong person to run a huge transport company, Gin always knew that Mutsu would keep things together. Tatsuma was just the man with the vision, not necessarily the ingenuity to put it together. That was probably why they made such a good team, though he suspected there were ulterior motives for the pair to stick together.

As he exited the small bathroom, Gin cast a look around his cozy little home. It was nothing major, but it was his. With a light smile, he casually made his way through the living room, straightening his charcoal toned coat as he approached the door. Slipping the dark formal shoes on, he felt his mood drop at the sound from outside.

Sliding open the door to the front, he internally winced, now debating whether he wanted to go or not. The heavy falling rain pattered strongly against the ground before him, dripping carelessly from the roof of his small home. Muttering a silent curse to his friend for picking such a horrible day for his event, Gintoki grabbed the purple umbrella from its stand near the door.

Opening the heavy paper item, he took a few hesitant steps into the cold of the outside. He could hear the somewhat hollow sound of raindrops against his umbrella, watching as it beaded down before dripping off the edge of it. With a more confident air, he closed the door before making his way down the small stone path that led from his home to the street.

The patter of rain against his mobile covering rang in his ears, irritating him to no end. He tried not to show it, his crimson eyes focusing on the world before him. Dark clouds seemed to dip from their place in the sky, nearly touching the ground. It seemed as though he had been walking for hours, the discomfort of the formal shoes making his feet ache as he walked.

Why did it have to be so far away? Why couldn't the gathering be somewhere closer? So what if his neighborhood was not the fanciest part of town. They didn't have to pick a place on the clear other side of town. Cursing himself, he lamented the fact that he had forgotten to grab his wallet, leaving him effectively penniless at the moment. Stopping briefly, he cast a sidelong glance at the nearby alley.

That was not something he wanted to do, to walk through the dingy street, but it was the only shortcut he could think of. Taking in a sharp breath, he made his way carefully down the street. Each step brought another splash of water at his feet, and he hoped the mud wouldn't ruin his one decent pair of shoes. It wasn't something he would normally care for, but he certainly didn't want to replace them if he didn't have to.

Looking from side to side, he let the umbrella hang loosely off his shoulder, tilting slightly so the rain fell behind him. The area was so poor looking, making him thankful for his meager dwelling. He wondered if these people had a home to return to, their clothing tattered and worn looking. They didn't look particularly dangerous, simply pitiable.

The dingy atmosphere of the back alley street fit with the dark clouds fairly well, and he felt oddly out of place. He tried to push his eyes into a narrowed, unconcerned look. He tried to look unaffected by the street and the people around him, something he had gotten fairly good at.

Being in the line of work he was, all sorts of skills were acquired, including a good poker face. He had occasionally been called in for help from his friend, whenever the deal he was working on needed that extra special touch. That was why it was important for him to look presentable from time to time, and why his presence at these things was so important.

In his mind, Gin began to run through more excuses on why he wouldn't have to go, ways to get out of it, and why he should never have accepted those jobs. A light breeze fluttered his dark grey coat lightly, edge flapping gently against his back. The wind felt good in his silver hair, the messy locks moving carelessly with the natural force.

As he walked, a colorful visions filled his peripheral vision, and his body involuntarily came to a stop. The world around seemed to vanish, the pattering of rain stopping as his crimson orbs caught sight of the young girl. She, just like him, seemed out of place there, and his mind was alight with curiosity about her.

Turning his head, he took her in with his whole vision, watching as he own eyes turned to consider him. His breath caught in his chest for an instant, her eyes impossibly blue for a human being. The soft, smooth porcelain skin seemed to glow with the moisture that glistened on it. Red locks held in place by the heavy rain, her pink shawl soaked in a similar fashion to her red Chinese clothing.

She was, in a word, breathtaking. Suddenly he forgot all about his previous engagements, all about his displacement in this area. All of that seemed to lose its meaning as he simply gazed at her. Gin felt his face fall into a look of what must have been wonder, something he wanted to smack himself for.

But as he looked at her, he noticed something else in those impossibly beautiful eyes. Something sad, something melancholic. Once his heart began beating normally once more, he tried to shake loose of her hypnotic stare, finding the task impossible.

With no words, she seemed to be pleading to him for something. Something he couldn't decipher, yet the innocence of her appearance made him want to give it to her. Whatever it was, if he was able, he would have. On instinct, he took the umbrella from its perch on his right shoulder, moving it so that it covered the young girl.

"You look pretty cold. You have anywhere to go?" he asked, surprised as the words seemed to just bubble out. The look of surprise on the girl's face made him think for a moment that he had made a mistake, and was thinking of what he could say to get out of the situation.

"No. I don't." Direct, to the point. The words cut right through him, piercing into his heart along with the near desperate tone to her voice. With a harsh swallow, he felt the rain begin to soak through his suit, but he didn't care.

"Well," he began, not entirely sure exactly what he was doing, "if you want, I have a place near here if you just want to be somewhere dry and warm." It was so unlike him, to take an interest in another person like that. But something about her just screamed at him. Screamed for him to be there for her.

For an agonizing period of time, he thought she was going to refuse, to scream that he was a pervert and make things more miserable for him. He caught a light trembling of her lips, her head turning down towards the ground at her feet. If he didn't know better, he would assume the girl was crying.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to sound suspicious!" he tried to excuse his suggestion, fearing that he had upset this delicate creature. As he stammered through his apology, the girl giggled happily at him, her gaze returning to his.

"Alright." One word, all he had needed to hear from her. Sighing in frustration, he reached his hand out towards the girl.

"Gintoki." he spoke, watching the confused reaction of the young girl. "My name. Sakata Gintoki." At that, he gave her a reassuring smile, one which warmed as she grasped his hand.

"Kagura." She smiled up at him as she gazed into his magenta colored eyes, an almost impossible warmth in the smile to contrast with the sadness that still shone in her eyes. Something had happened to her, but he wasn't worrying about that now. Turning completely around, he let the girl approach next to him, pulling the umbrella over both of them.

He would have to remember to thank Sakamoto for this someday.

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**So sweet of Gintoki to offer his help to her like that, eh? Not sure why I picked up on this one, but it just seemed too good to pass up. Once I get the first 3 or so chapters of this up, I will probably do it simultaneously with 'A Family Affair', fluff for drama sort of thing. Any ideas on possible roles for the other characters, given the seemingly WWII setting, are appreciated. I have some ideas, but I am curious on your thoughts. Well, until next time loyal readers.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

**Rating: K+**

**You know the pairing already.**

**Continuation from chapter 1, this one finishes their first day together. Some unusual feelings, some frustration, and a cute sleep scene. Again, if the characters are OOC in this, it is somewhat intended. Pure fluff in this one, maybe a bit of drama next time, but probably not. That said, enjoy the fluff all.

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As they walked slowly through the rain, an odd silence passed between the unusual pair. The purple umbrella served little use, as both were already wet, yet the gesture was still appreciated by both. Gin was thankful that his limited time in the rain had not soaked him as much as the girl to his right was. He could tell that as much as she was trying to keep her body acting normal, she was still shivering.

It created an odd sensation in his chest, imagining what kind of troubles this young girl could be in for her to be completely alone. Being an orphan himself, anything he had gotten in life had been through his own effort, and the kindness of those around him. He wanted to turn his gaze back to the girl, to ask what her situation was, but felt that asking such a thing so soon after meeting someone would be a tad strange.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her slight frame tremble beneath the cold, damp fabric that surrounded her. The lips that he figured would usually be full and pink, were instead blue, almost a light purple from the biting cold. Stopping for an instant, he watched the girl's face draw into a confused expression, wondering if maybe they were already at his home.

With a warm smile on his face, Gin slipped his arms from the sleeves of his coat. Once it was off of his broad shoulders, the young man swung his arms to the side, letting the coat land gracefully on her slender shoulders. He could tell she was surprised by the kind gesture, and only shook his head. What little comfort it could offer, he would rather she enjoy it just then.

"Thanks, Gin-chan." The softness of her voice struck him hard, and his heart began to beat just a little quicker. He wondered how she could be so casual, so familiar with him so soon after meeting, but decided that he liked it. With a quick nod, he watched as the girl grabbed the edges of the coat, pulling it closed around her.

The tension in her body seemed to melt away, her shoulders sinking just a bit in comfort as she closed her eyes. It looked to the young man as though she were truly thankful for the coat, and he smiled to himself as he began walking once more. Slipping his free hand into his pocket, he listened to the soft footsteps beside him.

His smile dropped briefly, replaced with a look of surprise as the girl hooked her arm through his. Looking down at her, he could not see her face, her vision turned downward as she walked. Blinking a few times at the sight, he mentally shrugged, figuring that this girl was not one to be too reserved.

Yet, as they continued back towards his small home, Gintoki could not help but feel the warmth of her small frame. Even through the reasonably thick material of his coat, through the cold wet fabric she was wearing. He felt his own body heat up a bit at her contact, a long forgotten feeling for him. It became just a bit harder to walk, the girl's grip fairly strong for such a petite body.

But as the girl clung on his arm, Gin had to gulp down hard, feeling the soft curves of her breasts pressing against him. He tried his best to keep his gaze directed forward, to ignore the soft warmth encompassing him, finding the effort difficult. The soft splash of water served to soothe the strain a bit, allowing him to focus on anything but the softness to his side.

While Gintoki was trying to ignore the situation, the keep his thoughts clear and innocent, Kagura was trying to do the exact opposite. She wanted to savor the feeling, the warmth that she was getting from his strong body. Beneath his crisp white dress shirt, she could feel strong, if not necessarily large muscles. As a result, he was so warm, so comforting.

She wasn't sure how long the feeling would last, when the clock would hit the proverbial midnight and she would be back to her lonely existence, but just then it didn't matter. It was strange, how connected to someone she could feel so quickly. Something was special about this older man, something that seemed to shine from the deepest part of his soul.

A warm, barely visible silver light, one that encompassed all her being, soothing the pain she felt at her loss. The wounds seemed to just disappear, drained away in his presence. It was even more confusing as she didn't know anything about him, other than his name. Casting a secretive glance, she felt her cheeks warm slightly, her arms hooked tightly through his.

Kagura hoped that somehow, the warmth that she felt would last, that she would be able to enjoy it more than just this one display. Suspicion began to creep into her as they came closer to his home, the area turning seedier with each step. Not a truly dangerous, crime ridden kind of area. It was more like a redlight district, the streets lined on either side with bars and other establishments of the variety.

The fancy way he was dressed seemed to clash with the area he lived in, sending a million questions about his character through her mind. Was he some sort of weirdo, looking to exploit her? Why did he dress that way, if he lived where he did? She wanted to believe in him, to give him the benefit of the doubt. Somehow, it mattered to her. Why else would he have been so kind to her, if it wasn't just his personality?

Stopping slightly, she looked almost slack jawed at the dwelling. Not palatial looking, but not too run down looking. She cocked her head slightly, taking the sight before her in fully to make some kind of decision. It still looked suspicious, but as she looked around, the area around it seemed a bit nicer.

One bar sat across the street from it, a relatively open space surrounding it on any other side. It seemed that this place was near the edge of the city, a somewhat lonely location. Still within reach of the seedy establishments, but isolated enough to be comfortable. As they stood in front of the small home, both let their gaze drift upward.

"Ah, looks like the rain is over." he mumbled lazily, rubbing the back of his head as he turned his attention back to the girl at his side. Was that it? Was he just going to tell her to get lost since his reason for inviting her was gone? Kagura felt her body tense a bit as he seemed to consider the situation.

Without a word, he took a few steps towards his house, closing the umbrella up as he walked. Kagura had no words. Her brief dream seemed to be over already. She clutched tightly at the dark charcoal coat draped across her shoulders, the shivers coming back in full as she watched him slide open the door to his humble home.

But as he took a single step onto the dark stone near the entrance, he stopped, as though forgetting something. Turning his gaze back to the young red head, he looked at her almost in confusion. His crimson eyes were so hypnotizing to her, she felt her breath catch a bit in her throat before he spoke.

"Well, aren't you coming in?" It was like all her hopes were justified, and the world seemed to brighten just with that simple question. With a flurry of movement, the girl closed the slight distance between the two, throwing her arms carelessly around his neck. She was not the type to act so rashly, so impulsively, but just then, that didn't matter. She simply threw caution to the wind, and hugged him tightly.

Gintoki felt his breath escape in a large rush, the girl's quick motion catching him off guard. As the small frame bowled into him, the young man felt his body fall backwards. Her oddly strong, slender arms wrapping around his neck, he could tell that she was happy about something.

With an audible crashing sound, he felt the cold stone against his damp back, the wet fabric of her clothing soaking through the front. In their prone position, he was now painfully aware of the fact that she was a young woman, the soft mounds of flesh pressing idly against his chest. The flush of his face was unavoidable, as he simply patted the girl on the back.

"Okay, so you're excited. Now do you think you could get off of me?" he huffed, a mock angry tone to his voice as he spoke. Almost grudgingly, the girl removed herself from their hug, but remained sitting squarely on his waist. She seemed to consider her options in the situation, and he found himself helpless. What was going on with him?

Before he could wonder what his mind was up to, the girl quickly got to her feet, staring down at him in a rather innocent manner. As a mischievous smile crossed her lips, Gin pulled himself into a sitting position. Blinking in confusion, he watched the girl fall back into a more respectful position. Legs tucked beneath her slight frame, his coat still draped across her shoulders, the girl looked at him with something akin to expectation.

"Well, just wait here for a minute. I'll see if I can find something you can put on." he muttered again, sighing heavily as he got up. Slipping the uncomfortable shoes off his feet, he felt his body seem to trudge through the home. The soft padding of his footsteps echoed uncomfortably through the small home as he disappeared into what must have been his room.

After a minute, he appeared once again from the room, a clean, dry t-shirt hanging from his hand. Beneath that could be seen a blue and white striped pajama bottom, the fabric looking soft and cottony for both. With a careless gesture, the young man tossed the comfortable looking clothing to the young girl.

"Here, I think these will work for now." Stroking his chin, he seemed to be deep in thought about something as he considered the young girl. "The shower is back there, so why not get a little warm." As he spoke, Gin hiked a thumb directly behind him, indicating a solid looking wooden door, a single circular pane of glass at head level.

"Thanks, Gin-chan." she answered, letting the coat drop from her slender body as she stood. Heading towards the bathroom, she let her gaze fall back towards her new benefactor. She smiled warmly as he grudgingly picked up the discarded garment, muttering something about his bad luck as he did. But somehow, he didn't seem too bothered by it.

Stepping into the small room just off of the bathroom, she looked around, getting a feel for the cozy atmosphere. Just before the sliding door to enter the bathroom proper, she noticed the hamper, overfilled with unwashed clothing. The sight of his various garments spilling from the bin brought an amused smile to her face, figuring that he was either not good at handling the laundry or just too lazy.

But at the thought of laundry, another separate thought occurred to her. Looking at the garments in hand, she felt her face flush hot with a surge of blood. It had not occurred to her before then that as a man, he would not have women's panties. The blush darkened a bit further at the thought, imagining her completely bare body beneath his clothing.

Shaking her head, she didn't want to picture that. She didn't want to think that that had been a part of his plan all along. With a sigh of frustration at her own imagination, the girl slowly began to strip her wet clothing, wondering briefly if she should toss it in with his clothes.

With a shrug, she simply tossed the wet garb atop the bin, figuring that she could deal with it once they were dry. Grabbing the nearby towel, Kagura hesitantly made her way into the bathroom, her body tensing a bit at the contact of cold tile against her bare feet. It seemed an eternity since she had experienced the feeling, a thought that brought back that familiar ache in her chest.

Feeling the smile fall into a sad frown, she tried to shake herself from the feeling. She was determined to move on, to focus on the pleasant feel that she got from this silver haired young man. But the ache remained, as though a reminder of her past. Each time she closed her eyes, she could still see his face, his caring brown eyes that shone through his glasses.

The dark, messy hair hanging down into his face. Taking in a deep breath, Kagura let the images leave her mind, if only for a moment's rest. Hanging the towel on the rack, she turned the dial for the shower, running her hand under the water as she messed with the temperature settings.

First too cold, then too hot, she slowly turned the dial until the water reached a nice temperature. With a satisfied nod, she reached into her hair, removing the gold and black clips used to hold her buns in place. As the red hair fell from its usual position, the girl felt an odd tickling against her neck.

The still dry hair within the buns mingled with the still damp hair, giving an odd sort of feeling. Holding the dry hair in place, Kagura slipped into the shower, letting the warm water fall carelessly over her cold skin. The warmth was so relaxing, so calming, and yet something was off. As the warm water soaked her hair, her hands trailing idly over her body, she realized that it wasn't the kind of warmth she wanted.

Her mind wandered back to the silver haired young man in the business suit, how he had offered her a shelter from the cold and the rain. And, in her mind, from the loneliness and desperation. The almost searing heat from his body when she had dared to hook her arms through his still hung in her mind. Running a hand over her chest, she felt her eyes open a bit as the realization hit her. Her heart was still racing from just that simple contact.

Her mind slowly wandered to less wholesome areas, each time trying to bring herself back to the present predicament. Even in this hot shower, she craved that warmth, that safe feeling. It was so strange to her still, that he could have made such an impact on her in such a short time.

Reaching to the side, she grabbed what she assumed was his shampoo. Letting a bit of the substance drip into her hand, she lathered it up, letting the soapy kind of smell fill her senses. A smile crossed her face as she brought the lathered substance up to her head, ruffling her red strands with the cleaning solution.

It felt so good to have her head clean once more, the water rinsing away the soapy shampoo mixed with the traces of dirt. She watched as the white foam washed down the drain, taking with it her tension from the cold damp air outside. As the last traces of shampoo washed down the drain, she grabbed the nearby bar of soap. Running the jade green bar across her body, the young girl felt that familiar tingling, the feeling of complete cleanliness wash over her.

Everything in the bathroom screamed at her that it was a man's place, untouched by any woman, and the thought made her oddly happy. Once she was satisfied with her sanitation, she turned the dial, watching the force of the shower's water dwindled before slowing to a drip. The light drips of water echoed off of the tile around her, before leaving completely.

Left to her own thoughts, she set about drying herself, looking at herself in the steam coated mirror. Grabbing the towel off of the rack, she patted herself from head to toe, removing the beads of water from her smooth, pale skin. The dark blue material felt oddly coarse, as though it were not cared for properly.

She wondered to herself if indeed he didn't know how to do laundry. Holding the towel tightly, she set about drying her hair. The moisture was greater upon the soft, red locks upon her head, and so took more effort to dry. Clasping the locks between her hands, she ran them back and forth across her hair, feeling the wetness transfer to the towel in hand.

Once she was satisfied that her hair was cared for well enough, she let the towel hang idly from her head, the blush from earlier returning as she looked at the clothing prepared for her. Picking up the pants, she felt herself sigh at the simple softness, as they looked very comfortable. Biting her lower lip, she imagined the feeling of the soft, comfortable material against her bare skin, the sensitive skin of her nether regions.

Taking a deep breath, she slipped one leg into the pajama bottom, shivering at the soft feel against her skin. Closing her eyes, she tried not to focus on the feeling of the cotton against her skin as she tightened the waist around her. As she expected, the pants were a bit big for her, and she involuntarily held her thighs together. The other expected sensation was nearly too much as she tried to get accustomed to the feeling.

Still biting her lower lip, she slipped the white shirt over her upper body. The soft fabric was no better here, the pure white rubbing almost painfully against her nipples. Turning back towards the mirror on the wall, she wiped the last traces of steam from the reflective surface. Looking herself over, she was pleased with how she looked. The large garments were not too bad, but she blushed a bit as she noticed the protrusions in the shirt.

Shaking her head, she decided to head back out of the bathroom, hoping to find something to eat. As she slid the door open, she heard the young man on the phone, seemingly making some kind of apology to someone. Leaning against the nearby wall, she listened in, wondering who he was talking to.

"Ah, sorry I couldn't make it today, man." he apologized, his voice holding a contrasting expression as he spoke. Even though he said he was sorry for missing whatever it was, he didn't seem too broken up about it.

"Huh? Ah, well, you see, my, uh, kitten wasn't feeling well, so I had to take care of it." Kagura almost burst into a fit of laughter at being mentioned as a kitten. It was not something she had ever heard before, and she was not sure if his friend on the other side of the line would go for such a lie.

"When did I get it? Ah, just the other day. It was just the cutest thing, so I just couldn't leave it alone." his lie got a bit more believable sounding, drawing a content smile from the young girl, her pale cheeks tinted with a light red. Did he really think she was cute? The thought made her oddly happy, drawing her attention from the uncomfortable feeling of his clothing on her bare skin.

"Yeah, I'll definitely make it next time. Thanks for understanding. Later." As he slammed the phone down onto the hook, Gin sighed heavily. Running his fingers through his silver hair, the young man trudged over to the couch. During her shower, he had apparently changed his clothes as well.

The formal, fancy looking clothing replaced with a white kimono, adorned with blue swirls at the bottom of the sleeves. Only one sleeve was on an arm, the other hanging uselessly to the side. A black shirt with red lining matched his black pants, giving him a rather messy, careless look.

"It's not nice to spy on people, you know?" he mumbled, his gaze not shifting from its position. Her eyes widened in surprise, as he slumped backward on his couch. Making her way from the "hiding place", she let her brows quirk up in confusion. How did he know she was listening. As she approached, she watched his head slink to the side, taking the sight of her in.

"Looks nice." he complimented her look, sending another wave of embarrassment through her body. A nod was all she could manage before he slumped fully to the side. Tucking his hands behind his head, he looked idly at the ceiling. She thought for an instant that she caught a light red tone on his cheeks, but it was gone just as soon as it appeared.

"Um, Gin-chan?" she asked, feeling oddly shy in front of him. His eyes shifted slightly to look at her, his right brow quirked to ask what she wanted. "Do you have anything to eat?" No sooner had the words escaped her lips than her stomach put in its own piece, growling loudly. For an instant the room was silent, a hint of awkwardness between the two.

"Hahahaha. Ah, the kitchen is in there, just help yourself." Gintoki barely gasped between laughs, made worse when her cheeks puffed up in a pout. His amused laughs followed her into the kitchen, ringing carelessly in her ears. She really couldn't figure him out. One minute he was being nice and caring, and the next he seemed completely careless and sarcastic.

But as she looked through his refrigerator, looking for something edible, a smile crossed her lips. Maybe it would be fun to find out what the real Gin-chan was like. Nodding to herself, she gathered a few items, placing them on the nearby counter. Pulling out a loaf of bread, she produced a few slices.

Slapping the ingredients atop the bread, the young girl produced a rather nice sized sandwich. Taking a large bite, she felt the rumble in her stomach die down, smile etched on her lips all the while. As she slipped back into the living area, Kagura watched as his position seemed to have not changed at all.

Plopping down on a nearby seat, she watched his peaceful form as she ate, wondering if he had fallen asleep. Swallowing the last traces of the meal, the girl licked her fingers clean, her blue eyes still resting on the young man only a short distance away.

How could he be so carefree? To simply fall asleep with a strange person in your home was something she was not sure she would ever be able to manage. But he seemed completely undisturbed by the prospect. The girl's body then moved on its own, slowly moving so that her face was directly above his, watching his sleeping face.

Leaning in closer, she narrowed her brows, so confused by his carefree actions. Sure, he did not seem to have anything of great value around, but that could not fully excuse his demeanor. He was already one of the most interesting people she had encountered, the way he could be so relaxed as to calm her own nerves.

"Is there something else you want, kid?" he asked, his sudden voice sending her reeling backwards a bit. He made no motion to stand up, instead turning his head to stare at her. Those crimson eyes shone with a kindness, and as she tried to gather her breathing to normal pace, Kagura simply watched him. He _REALLY_ was hard to predict.

"I'll take the couch. The bed is in there." he said, motioning to the room he had entered earlier. The girl's head cocked to the side, her brows knit together in confusion at his words. "Like I said, you can at least stay here tonight, right? So, I'll sleep on the couch." he seemed almost irritated by her confusion, one hand lazily scratching his side as he spoke.

"But, shouldn't I take the couch, since it is your place?" she tried to reason with him, wondering how a person could be so selfless. Her only response was a snort and a light laugh as he closed his eyes, seemingly intent on falling asleep.

She was left wide eyed, surprised and comforted by the gesture. Kagura listened as his breathing slowed and steadied, watching the subtle rise and fall of his chest as he slept. Shaking her head, the young girl made her way hesitantly towards his bedroom, smiling at the warm comfort it seemed to offer. Just like the rest of the home, it did not seem fancy, but was cozy. Comfortable.

Slipping herself into the comfortable bed, she let her body sink into the soft material. It seemed that he was capable of splurging where it was necessary, and for a brief instant, she wondered what it would be like to share the bed with him. Shaking those thoughts from her mind, the young girl turned onto her side, pulling the comforter closer around her chin.

Try as she might, no position seemed comfortable enough. From one side to the other, to her back, to her stomach. It just didn't seem to work. Sure, it was comfortable, but it wasn't… warm. Just then, a thought came to her. Grabbing the heavy comforter, she made her way back out into the living room, watching as the young man seemed to curl up for warmth.

With a pleasant smile, the girl pushed his back closer to the backing of the sofa, taking a place with her own back pressed to his chest. Her breath caught for an instant before slipping from her lips, the warmth of his body comforting her greatly. Tossing the heavy blanket over them, she pushed herself back towards him, intent on getting as much of that warmth as she could.

The idea seemed to work, as his own body relaxed a bit, his right arm finding its way across her waist, pulling her close to him. Kagura snickered a bit to herself at the attention, gaining the desired effect. She could feel sleep sneak up on her, all the tension and pain melting away in his warmth.

But just as the Sandman was about to put the finishing touches on her, the girl felt a pair of warm lips against her right ear, his words sending a hot shudder through her body. "And what do you think you're doing, Kagura?" he asked, a light tone of teasing to his voice.

No judgement, no malice, no intent of his own. She could tell that he was smiling, his breath brushing against her sensitive skin. The fact that he had not told her specifically to get up gave her a bit of comfort, and she simply nuzzled closer to him.

"Waste of the bed if we both sleep on the couch though." he mocked, letting himself drift fully to sleep. As her eyes hooded closed, Kagura couldn't help but agree with that thought.

"Maybe tomorrow…" she whispered, grabbing his hand in her own.

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**I wonder where things will go from here? Next time shows their first full day together, and I will try to bring some of the other characters into the mix. Likely Shinsengumi and Tae first, but will definitely be fluffy. Hope you all continue to enjoy the GinKagu fluff, and look forward to plenty more. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

**Rating: T (just to be safe)**

**More GinKagu fluff. This chapter is full of it. We also get a first introduction to the Shinsengumi duo (no Kondo yet, sorry) and another important character. This one is really long, and for that I apologize. I just couldn't think of a good place to end, so it just kept flowing until we got to 6000 words. Probably the longest chapter of this story, but no promises on that. Anyway, let me know if it kind of rambled on too much. I look forward to hearing what you all think of this work. Seems there are not enough reviews, so I hope that changes. I do love feedback after all. That said, enjoy the fluff.

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Looking through the bin full of clothes, Kagura felt a near daunting sensation from the sheer bulk. It seemed that there were weeks' worth of clothes filling up the hamper, but she had to be thankful for at least one thing. The clothing that filled the bin seemed to be rather close to clean, a fact that brought a sigh of relief from her sweet lips.

Having woken up somewhat early, the young girl had decided to do something to repay her benefactor's kindness. Once the remnants of sleep had been rubbed from her eyes, she had made her way to the bathroom, to take care of any morning business that followed the night's slumber. Each step of her bare feet against the cool wood floors tightened her frown a bit more.

Each dull thud made her shift her gaze behind her slightly, her blue eyes trying to get a look at the scene upon the oddly comfortable couch. The pajama bottoms and t-shirt didn't seem to be filling their purpose, and she felt oddly cool. But as she shifted herself into the small room where she had showered, Kagura let her thoughts wander just a bit.

She remembered how warm and comfortable she had felt curled up next to Gintoki's strong body, how safe she had felt when he had wrapped his arm around her. The frown melted away, replaced with an impossibly happy smile. The kind she wasn't sure she would ever feel again. Turning her attention to the hamper, she had resolved that she would give him a hand with the laundry, as he seemed either unwilling or unable to do it.

Each time she came across a pair of boxer shorts, the girl blushed just a bit, feeling awkward about handling someone else's undergarments. Hoisting the overfilled bin in her arms, the girl made her way out of the bathroom, struggling a bit to keep her balance. Having to open the door with her feet, the girl nearly fell face forward, barely managing to keep on her feet.

Once again, the steps across the living room were their own pain, her frown returning as did the wish to simply drop the clothes and curl back up next to his warm body. Forcing the thoughts from her mind, the young red-head set the clothes bin down near the front door, before stretching her arms out over her head. The motion sent the thin yet comfortable fabric of the white shirt rubbing against her sensitive skin once again, and she nearly immediately leaned forward for relief.

Casting a look around the cozy home, she wondered where he might keep his washing items. Her brows knit together, she scanned the room for a bin and washboard, frustrated at not knowing her surroundings as well as she would like. Sighing again in frustration, she set about once more to search the home, thankful at least that it was not too large or intricate.

The small building was not extremely well furbished, instead looking rather basic and empty. She wondered to herself what the reason was for that, especially considering the extremely comfortable bed that lay in his room. Thoughts of the bed sent her thoughts spiraling nearly out of control, Kagura barely stopping them from becoming too uncomfortable.

The soft padding of her feet against the cold hardwood floors mixed with the light sounds of slumber, her cheeks warming with a smile as she caught sight of his sleeping form. His body had turned onto its stomach with her absence, arms and legs sprawled in disparate directions. He looked rather silly, and the girl barely stifled an amused giggle.

Shaking her head, she headed deeper into the house, smiling as she found what she expected was the closet. Flipping open the door, Kagura let her smile brighten a bit, noting the brown bin upon the floor, cleaning compounds on either side. '_At least he _HAS_ the stuff for laundry.'_ she thought to herself.

Gathering the necessary items in hand, the girl made her way once more towards the front door of the small home, wondering what kind of reaction Gin would make once he finally woke up. Sliding open the door to the outdoors, Kagura instinctively let her eyes shut, smile still etched in place.

The unpleasant feeling from the previous day was gone, the world soaked in the aftermath of a heavy rain. The scent of wet grass filled her nostrils, a light breeze carrying the song of the morning birds to her ears. Peace seemed to ooze from the world's very depths, soothing her heart. It was something that one would enjoy about the early morning hours. Taking in a deep breath, the girl let the serenity of the morning soak in before letting her eyes open.

The scenery she caught was more than she could recall seeing in her time before. Aside from the couple of nearby bars, the landscape was almost completely natural. Green stretched out a good distance all around, occasionally dotted with a low hanging tree. The grass seemed to almost shine in the morning light, the rays of the sun catching the drops of dew on each blade.

Her suppressed giggle returned, as she realized that this must be the reason for him to live in such a place. The peace was definitely something she could get used to, and hoped he would share with her. Turning her gaze to the side, she caught sight of the water faucet, thankful to whatever deity that might be watching over her that it was so close by.

Turning the handle atop the spigot, Kagura cupped her hands beneath the opening, letting a bit of the clear fluid fill her hands. Bringing the makeshift container to her lips, she let it slide into her mouth, cooling her tongue and lips. A single gulp echoed in her ears, and she smiled at the cleanliness of the faucet. It seemed that Gin did take care of some things on his own, at least those that really mattered.

Slipping the wash basin under the water, she let it fill with the life giving liquid, unable to help but think that it was something of a waste for this to be used for simply washing clothes. The light splash of water against water drowned her thoughts temporarily, enjoying the playful swish of the water as it ran from the faucet into the basin.

Once the water level was right, Kagura turned the dial quickly, watching the flow of water slow before coming to a stop. A few final drops made their way from the metal opening into the wooden basin, and she watched, almost mesmerized by it. Each drop sent a small ripple through the pool of water, and she smiled at the effect of something small on something bigger.

After the water completely settled, she figured it was time to disturb it once again, as she poured the soap into the water. Letting the washboard rest against the side of the bin, she dropped a few of the garments into the now soapy water, swirling them around as she let the soap work its way into the fabric.

Even though the clothing was not particularly dirty, she still wanted to do a decent job, to be sure that they were as clean as she could make them. Once the clothing was sufficiently soaked, she pulled the first garment out, rubbing it against the ridged metal of the washboard. Each pass over the ridged surface sent small tremors through her fingers, a feel of hard work to accompany the tedium.

"Gah! Where the hell are all my clothes!?" his agonized voice rang from inside the home, sending a short round of chuckles from the young girl. From her perch on the front landing of the house, she listened as his footsteps quickly made their way from the bathroom towards the front door.

He seemed a bit put off by the sudden disappearance of nearly all the clothing in his house, but she had not expected it to be such an outburst. Her chuckling continued even as he violently slid open the front door, crouching down right next to her. Without turning her head in greeting, she simply remained focused on the task at hand, wondering what was going on in his head at that moment.

"Hoh? So that's what happened? I guess it has been a while since I did laundry." With that, his temper seemed to cool, his back leaning back against the outside of the doorframe. Finally turning her gaze towards him, she watched as his face seemed to fill with the peace of the morning, his crimson eyes taking in the quickly brightening sky. She could imagine him in such a position on many an occasion, simply laying back and taking in the peaceful sight of the nature around.

"How come you don't do laundry more, Gin-chan? It's not very healthy to let the dirty clothes pile up, you know." she began to lecture him, picking up another clothing item to clean. As the girl idly ran her hands up and down the hard washboard, she let her gaze shift to her side, looking for what could pass for a clothes line. Just from the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of it, smiling to herself as a warm ray of sunshine landed on her right cheek.

"It's too much of a hassle. Besides, it's not like I get too dirty." he answered, his arms hanging loosely off of his knees. The white kimono he had worn the previous night had seemingly been discarded, his body clothed only in the black material of his shirt and pants. Kagura had figured his reasoning would be something like that, and yet could not hold back her chuckle at his laziness.

"Geez. I guess you really could use a woman's touch around here." she prodded, watching from the corner of her eye for a reaction from the older man. The only one she got was a slight shift of his head to the side, his crimson eyes catching her sapphires in his stare. His lips slowly curled into a smile before turning his gaze back to the sky, seemingly not noticing the light flushing of her pale cheeks.

"Ah, I guess I could. Do you know any that would be willing to help out?" Kagura could distinctly hear the teasing tone of his voice, implying that she was not a woman after all. Her cheeks puffed out in a bit of a pout, and she considered simply leaving his clothes unwashed before a white flash appeared in front of her.

"But you should be more careful about your own clothing, Kagura-chan." His teasing seemed to increase, as did the flush on her face. When carrying the overflowing hamper, she had forgotten to take note of her own clothes, and realized that they had likely fallen off from their perilous perch on top of the wicker bin. With a quick motion, she tried to grasp the white cotton dangling in front of her, desperate to resolve the situation.

But his reflexes were a bit quicker than hers, as he pulled the cotton panties up beyond her grasp. She wondered for an instant if he was as grown up as he looked, since he was behaving like a small child. Another quick grasp, met with a handful of air. Crossing her arms in frustration, she let her gaze drop to the wash basin before her.

"No need to pout." Gin answered, dropping the white garment in her lap as he stood up. Cocking her head to the side, the girl looked at him with something akin to confusion, wondering what he was up to. "You can stay as long as you like, but you do have to help out around the house, you know?"

With that, he ran his left hand carelessly through the thick tufts of silver hair, not paying attention to the smile that graced his new friend's face. Mumbling something about breakfast, she watched as he disappeared back into the house, her cheeks feeling oddly sore from her wide grin. Leaning back herself, she watched as the Sun crept over the buildings roofs in the distance, each second bringing more rays of light to the blue sky.

"Thanks, Gin-chan." she whispered, knowing he couldn't hear her words. Letting him set up things for breakfast, Kagura figured it would be a good idea to finish up the laundry. Taking the small piece of cotton from her lap, she quickly added it to the basin, smiling as she set about cleansing the last of the clothing of the soapy water.

Making his way back into the house, Gin wondered what he could make for breakfast. Similar to his philosophy about laundry, he never truly enjoyed making any meal. The only things he got enjoyment from making was sweets. Cakes, fudge, anything sweet he loved to make. Almost as much as he loved to eat it.

"Damn it, I forgot to go to the store." he muttered to himself, looking through the cupboards and cabinets of the small kitchen. His lips came together in a frustrated frown, looking at a bundle of rice that seemed to be taunting him. Grabbing it, he figured at least there would be something to eat.

"Mah, I'll just figure something out later." he shrugged to himself, setting a bit of the food into the cooker. The idea of eating rice for breakfast was not entirely appealing to him, but he knew that there was little to be done about the matter. As he sat in a solid wooden chair at the kitchen table, he wondered if he had made the right call.

It was true, he really liked having the younger girl around, but gossip had a way of traveling rather quickly. Especially dangerous gossip, such as a young girl staying in the company of an older gentleman. And one in his situation nonetheless.

At the thought of his tenuous financial situation, Gin felt his heart tighten just a bit, wondering if he could really handle having another person around. He wondered to himself if it would be fair to her, to ask her to stay with someone like him. The thoughts just kept mulling around in his head, each one taunting him with desperation and loneliness.

Yet, each time he thought of simply ending things before he got too used to her, that smile would pop back into his mind. The bright, endlessly warm smile. That light curve of her soft, pink lips, beneath the unbelievably beautiful blue eyes. His heart seemed to tighten a bit as he imagined never seeing it again, and he felt angry at himself. How could he get so attached so quickly to someone?

"-n-chan?" his thoughts were interrupted by a now all too familiar red hue, clashing with the clarity of the blue sapphires in front of his eyes. Her face seemed etched in something like a mix of confusion and worry, resting only a few inches from his own.

"W-what is it, Kagura?" he asked in a hurry, trying to get over his own thoughts. Taking a claming breath, he watched as the young red-head took a seat next to him at the table. Resting her chin atop her folded arms, Kagura seemed to be watching him closely, the same look of apprehension on her face. The intensity of her gaze made him a bit uncomfortable, and so he cleared his throat, signaling for her to speak her mind.

"Well, you seemed to be thinking about something, and it seemed really out of character for you, so I was worried." The back-handed nature of the concern bothered him a bit, and his worries seemed to fly out the window, replaced with a frustrated anger.

"Brats shouldn't make light of their elders like that, you brat." he spat, the anger spilling over temporarily. The girl didn't seem to take notice of his anger, simply staring blankly at him.

"So, what were you thinking about, that was so important?" she asked directly once again, drawing a frustrated sigh from the young man. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he let his eyes fall lazily on the girl in front of him. She really could get right to the heart of the matter, and he found he liked that about her.

"Ah, it was nothing major. Just worrying about what I'm going to do for food with another person around here. Never had to think about feeding a second person before." Gintoki decided it would be alright to be honest, if not entirely forthcoming. It was true he had lived alone for a rather long time, and so had gotten used to simply fending for himself.

But here he was, ready to let this girl simply take up her own place in his isolated, peaceful world. Her eyes seemed to shimmer with something like worry, as though the thought had not occurred to her either. He knew that she had gotten a good look at his "cozy" little home, and so must have recognized that he was not near the top of the wealth list.

Gintoki liked to think his life was simply comfortable, finding a simple kind of joy in the occasional scrounging for his daily bread. It was something that proved that he was capable of overcoming the hardship and coming out clear. But did he want to subject someone so young to that?

Before he could make any further comments, the rice cooker made its indication that it was done, causing him to shoot up towards it. "Ah, sorry, but all I have is rice. I hope that's alright." In the back of his mind, Gintoki was hoping that the girl would be put off by his simple, poor kind of life and simply make her way out of it. No harm, no foul. But the smile she gave him in appreciation for the simple meal nearly sent his heart into his throat.

"Thanks for the food, Gin-chan." she responded honestly, digging into the fluffy white food, the chopsticks clanging against the small porcelain bowl that held her portion of the meal. Blinking a few times in disbelief, Gin made his way back into his seat, scooping his own portion into the bowl in front of him. Dipping his own chopsticks into the rice, he watched the girl eat from the corner of his eyes.

Was she serious? How could such a simple thing be acceptable to her? Gintoki had a hard time believing the situation, how innocent and sweet she seemed. What kind of life had she had before meeting him? He could not help but wonder just how hard life must have been to be so pleased with a meager meal of rice for breakfast.

That was the first time Gin could recall where he lamented his lot in life, wishing he was in a higher economic standing. Mentally shaking the thoughts from his head, he decided it would be better to think about that kind of thing after breakfast. Digging quickly into his own rice, he listened as the girl set her chopsticks atop her own bowl, bowing in respect for the meal before shooting him another pure, sweet smile.

This was definitely something he could get used to, if she were to indeed stay with him. Sighing inwardly, Gintoki set about finishing his meal, attempting to savor the subtle flavor of the food without letting his eyes wander to the side. But each time he tried to prevent it, his crimson spheres drifted to the slender frame next to him.

As he finished his meal, Gin smiled wide, noting that the girl was still wearing the clothing he had given her the night before. He wondered to himself if the girl felt uncomfortable at all in her situation, imagining her pale skin beneath his cotton clothing.

"What's so funny?" she asked, brows drawn in confusion as his sudden short burst of laughter. Leaning in closer, he whispered his thought in the girl's ear, his chuckling growing louder at the dark flush of her pale skin. His chuckling was met with a somewhat half-hearted punch towards his face, one that he managed to catch, still chuckling.

The pair ended up in a light hearted argument, Kagura the more quick tempered of the two drawn into throwing a series of punches. Gin, the ever so slightly calmer of the two, managed to dodge or deflect each of her blows, snickering all the while, which only served to increase the younger girl's temper.

After a few minutes, the pair stood, Gintoki rubbing the back of his head lazily while the young red-head panted for breath. Her exertions seemed to serve no purpose, as Gin simply stared vacantly at her, as though silently challenging her to continue.

"What, is that it, Kagura-chan?" his voice seemed to strike a cord in the girl's heart, and she lunged forward again, watching wide-eyed as he side stepped the punch. Placing his hand tightly around her wrist, he moved behind the girl, bringing her arm with him. With no leverage, Kagura felt helpless beneath his grip, her body flush against his as he leaned over her.

"I'm… just… getting started…" the girl tried to put up a strong front, silently enjoying the closeness with the silver haired young man. She could feel the heat on her cheeks, the cotton of the pajama bottoms rubbing carelessly against her most sensitive spot. As he breathed idly against her left ear, the girl hoped that he would chalk her ragged breathing to the intense activity.

Before anything more could happen, the doorbell rung, shattering the amusing interaction of the two. Both silently cursed whoever it was at the door, Gintoki mumbling in dissatisfaction as he headed towards the door. Sensing an opportunity for payback, Kagura leapt quickly onto his back. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, legs likewise locked around his waist, she whispered back in his ear.

"I told you I was just getting started." she nearly laughed, noticing him stumble a bit at the sudden introduction of her weight to his back. Kagura could tell that he was frustrated, hoping that he could feel her soft features pressing against his back through the thin fabric of his own shirt. Each step he took was nearly unaffected, a testament to the strength in his body.

"What do you wa-" his words stopped midway as he slid open the door, groaning audibly at the vision that greeted him.

"Good morning, Sakata-san." A policeman clad in all black spoke, his tone more closely resembling that of a social delinquent than a police officer. Without giving any answer, Gintoki tried to slide the door closed, finding it blocked by the sheathed katana of the taller man's partner.

"Eh, you're too soft, Hijikata-san. This kind of guy needs a lot of convincing to cooperate." Hijikata's similarly dressed partner spoke up, mocking his older partner with his tone of voice. His back resting against the wall next to the door frame, the younger boy who looked almost Kagura's age held his katana in the path of the door.

Sliding the mask sporting fake eyes from his face, the young man let the red and black mask rest atop his head, turning his gaze towards the silver haired man. Kagura could feel an inaudible growl of frustration at the situation, wondering what his connection with these young men was.

"Will you shut the hell up, Sougo? I'm the superior officer here, so just let me do my job!" Sougo seemed completely unfazed by his older partner's demeanor, taking a position between Hijikata and Gintoki.

"Well, we have some business here, danna." An audible snap, and Hijikata had drawn his katana, placing the edge dangerously against the neck of his younger companion. "Ah, Hijikata-san, that is attempted murder. I will have to place you under arrest." At the sight of the antics of these police officers, Gintoki felt his aggravation increase, watching as they exchanged verbal blows.

One easily excited and prone to bursts of anger, the other oddly calm, able to dodge every blow thrown his way. Having enough of the morning intrusion, Gin let out a deep breath, landing harsh blows on the back of the head of both young men.

"So, what did you guys come out here for so early in the morning?" he asked, his irritation evident in his tone, both officers rubbing the sore spots on the back of their head.

"Ah, right. Well, we have been instructed to hand these out." Hijikata spoke, trying to hide the malice from his voice. Producing a small sheet of paper, he handed it to the silver haired young man. After taking one look at it, Gintoki sighed deeply.

"This again? I have told those guys a million times that I'm not interested." he muttered, crumpling up the paper before tossing it behind him and into the house. Kagure felt a twinge of curiosity, wondering what was written on the paper. The brown haired young man took a heavy drag of his cigarette, letting the tobacco smoke fill his mouth before exhaling.

" I figured you would say that, but like I said, we were ordered to hand these out. I suppose you know what to do if you ever change your mind, Sakata-san." With that, he and his partner blinked, finally picking up on something they had missed previously.

"By the way, danna, what is that?" Sougo asked, pointing towards the slender figure draped across his back. Gintoki groaned in frustration, cursing his luck for meeting up with this idiotic duo so early in the morning. Placing his hand atop the joined wrists on the front of his neck, he motioned for Kagura to slip off.

Rather than extricate herself from her perch on his back, the girl simply peered her head around his, taking in the sight of the two young police officers. The hard look of the first made her a bit nervous, causing her to clutch at her new friend a bit tighter. His eyebrows seemed to cock just a bit, wondering what she was so afraid of.

"So, who's your friend, Gintoki?" All formality gone between the people before her and Gin, Hijikata asked about Kagura's identity. For an instant, she wondered just what he would say, how he would describe their relationship.

"Well," he began, casting a knowing look to the young girl, "the other day I found this cute little kitten, and decided to adopt it." Kagura could not help but blush, enjoying being mentioned as cute by her friend. Hijikata and Sougo seemed to look at each other for some kind of other explanation. With a smirk, Hijikata simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Is that so? Well, be sure to take care of that "kitten", Gintoki." With that, he gave a backwards wave as he turned, walking off down the stone path back into the seedy district. His younger partner seemed to hang back for a moment longer, leaning in until his eyes were only a short distance from the young red-head.

"Something else I can help you with, Okita-kun?" Gintoki asked with an oddly hostile voice, drawing the young man's attention back to him. Okita simply popped up, looking amusedly at the silver haired young man.

"You should really stop being so irresponsible, danna. It's not good for you." With that, the younger boy gave a somewhat sarcastic wave before slowly making his way down the path. As he reached the end, Gin couldn't help but chuckle as Sougo went a clear other direction from the older man.

"Geez, he's the last one I need to hear from about being irresponsible." Gintoki muttered in a more amused fashion. Shooting a glance to the side, he noticed his clothing hanging loosely from the clothesline, smiling as he watched it flutter carelessly in the wind.

"Do you know those guys, Gin-chan?" Kagura asked, her lips brushing gently against his ear as she spoke. Each breath of hers sent small shivers through his body, and Gin reached back to grab the girl from his back. Using her agility and positioning, the girl stayed from his grip, making her way to his front.

"So, do you?" she asked, her body having completely reversed its position, her chest now pressed firmly against his. Her arms still clung tightly around his neck, hands gripped together behind him. He seemed to accept the new situation, turning to make his way back into the small house.

"Something like that. Me and Hijikata went to school together, and we… never really got along. He used to be in charge of the disciplinary committee, and so there were lots of issues." He seemed to be glossing over something, but Kagura simply let it go, listening to his story to learn something new about her friend.

"After high school, we went our separate ways, until he became a cop. We still run into each other occasionally, but it's a bit less hostile." His words didn't seem to match the reaction to seeing the pair of cops, and so she called him on it.

"Then why were you so upset to see those guys this morning?" In truth, she had been irritated by the visit as well, but she suspected his reasons were different than hers. While he probably had some history with them, she was just irritated by having her time with Gintoki interrupted. With that, she smiled brightly, burying her face against his chest, savoring his warmth.

"Well, they've been pestering me to join the army for a while. Supposedly, there is a big fight coming, and they need all the help they can get. Apparently my reputation got pretty big when I was in school." Now Kagura really wanted more info, but his tone made it pretty clear that no more was coming.

As he approached the small sofa, Gin took a seat, letting himself fall rather unevenly against the soft surface. As he violently leaned against the sofa, Kagura simply held tightly, listening to the subtle change in his breathing from the frustration of the morning.

"Oh, I should take a shower." she mumbled, not realizing that she had not showered that morning yet. A simple nod in response from Gintoki, and she finally extricated herself from his body, bounding off quickly towards the bathroom. It seemed to Gin that she was in some kind of hurry to finish, but something he couldn't determine.

Leaning back, he listened to the soft hum of water through the pipes, having to fight back a small blush as he imagined her bare form beneath the warm water. His imagination seemed to be running away with him in the short time he had known the girl, a thought that brought an amused smile to his face.

The time of her shower seemed a bit longer than the previous night, and Gin suddenly began to long for his own shower. It had been more than a day since he had bathed, something he did not enjoy. Water pattering against the porcelain and glass of the shower seemed to taunt him, laughing at his predicament.

"Damn it." was all he muttered, trying to close his eyes against the torrent of sounds and images. Finally, the water slowly shut off, and he waited impatiently for the girl to exit the shower so that he could take his own turn. The barely audible sound of her feet against the moist tile almost pounded in his ears, bringing with it the images he tried to push out.

"Ah, that's better." she spoke, making her way out of the bathroom. The cool air always felt refreshing after a hot shower, something she always enjoyed. As he stood up to head towards the bedroom to gather his own change of clothes, Gin's face flushed almost as red as the younger girl's hair.

"K-K-Kagura-chan, w-w-what are you doing?" he stuttered, something he seldom did before. The girl simply looked at him as though he were crazy, questioning him with her clear blue eyes. Trying to calm himself down, Gin's eyes seemed to roam over her body all on their own.

She had seemingly opted not to slip back into the pajama bottoms and t-shirt from earlier, instead covering herself with only the navy blue towel. The subtle curves of her body were all visible to his gaze, and the young man had to fight hard to prevent a nose bleed.

"What's wrong, Gin-chan?" she asked, her confusion turning to concern. Shaking it off, Gintoki muttered that it was nothing, before slipping into the bedroom. Gathering his change of clothes, he quickly made his way into the bathroom. Once he was securely inside, he leaned against the door, feeling each haggard breath from his lungs.

"Damn it, this is getting serious." he mumbled to himself, trying to calm down after the scene he had witnessed. If he hadn't known better, he might have thought the girl was trying to seduce him. But that wasn't possible… was it? The possibility lingered for a single moment before being dismissed by the young man. It was a silly notion.

Turning the dial for the shower's nozzle, he shifted the temperature until it was at the right setting. Smirking to himself, he let his garments fall to the floor. Slipping into the warm water, he felt the dirt and grime wash away, relaxing him immensely. While he wasn't one of those obsessively clean people, Gin did enjoy a good bath or shower. It always relaxed him a great deal.

As the water rinsed over him, washing through his hair before falling to the bottom of the shower, Gintoki's mind again shifted to the young girl who had so quickly made a place in his heart. His head leaning against the nearest wall, he let the warm water cascade down his strong frame. With a chuckle, he laughed at how silly he was being.

"I'm sure it's just my imagination." he tried convincing himself, as he lathered the shampoo in his hand before transferring it to his hair.

As Gin was rinsing off a day's worth of grime, Kagura had taken his spot on the sofa, her legs pulled carelessly towards her chest. The gesture pulled the towel up a bit as well, leaving her pale skin exposed to the cool air even more. Letting the coolness of the air wash over her, she could not help but smile.

Gintoki had been a gentleman, in his own way, despite her teasing gesture. The way he had reacted had been so innocent, and she wondered if any other guy would have reacted the same way? It was always her understanding that men were animals, slaves to their own desires. But he had seemed sweet about it, right down to how flustered he got.

Yet, deep in her heart, she felt a pang of… disappointment. Did she want him to react differently? How did she want him to react? Just one day with this guy was making her feel quite strange, like nothing else really mattered aside from him. Throwing her head back, she let the loose strands of hair fall in her eyes, the rest falling against the back of the sofa.

"What should I do?" she wondered aloud, images of the silver haired young man burning through her mind. There was still so much she didn't know about him, but she supposed there was at least as much he didn't know about her. But did that really matter? There seemed more answers than questions when he was concerned, and it bothered her greatly.

Just as her thoughts began to rage inside her, she heard a familiar voice at the door, one that brought a flood of memories back within the young girl.

"Gin-san? Are you home?" the soft, feminine voice rang throughout the house, causing Kagura's heart to skip a beat in her chest.

"Big-sis?" she asked hesitantly, as she slowly crept towards the front door. There was no way it was her, absolutely none. She tried to convince herself of the fact, as she reached out for the door. Part of her wanted to just dart back into the house, to curl up in Gin's comfortable bed and let the world just pass by her. A heavy intake of breath and she had slid open the door, revealing just who she had thought it was.

"Kagura-chan? What are you doing here?"

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**Woo, the drama starts here. This will be the first of probably 2 dramatic turns in this story, which is otherwise just pure fluff. Tae's introduction will bring the character circle all the way around, and how they are connected. Haven't made a final decision on Shinpachi's ultimate fate yet either, so feedback can help determine that. **

**Also, as a side note, I have ideas for at least 4 oneshots that I will publish before getting to the next installment of 'A Family Affair'. All GinKagu, of course, of varying levels of fluff. At least one will probably be close to lemon territory, just for a heads up. Look forward to the GinKagu fluff, loyal readers.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**

**Rating: K**

**Alright people, here is chapter 4. Here we meet this version of Tae, and find out her connection to Gintoki. Needless to say, drama. Just a bit though. Not a big dramatist myself. Sorry for the wait for this one, and also sorry if it seems messy towards the end. Reviews are welcome as always, so don't be afraid to comment. That said, enjoy the GinKagu.

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Kagura could see the genuine shock and surprise on her friend's face. The older woman brought her hands together in front of her lips, soft brown eyes shimmering in relief at the sight of the red head. She had figured that her disappearance would have worried her sister-in-law, but to see the effects right in front of her gave pause.

Looking down to the ground, Kagura tried to will the situation to a close. She wasn't used to seeing Tae in such a condition. It wasn't normal. The young girl knew in her heart that a lecture was coming. Yelling, and stern warnings and complaints about her misbehavior. For an instant she thought that her blue eyes might burn a hole in the ground beneath her feet before she felt a sudden pressure encompassing her body.

"Where have you been, Kagura?" No words of condemnation. Only a sense of relief and joy as the brunette held the red head close, nearly smothering the poor girl. Lifting her gaze slowly to the face of her long time friend, feeling a tight pang in her chest. A feeling of guilt.

"I'm… sorry, big sis." Kagura answered weakly, letting her own slender arms wrap around the waist of her older friend. Pressing her face into the shoulder of the brunette, she apologized, as much as she could for worrying the young woman.

"Shh… it's alright, Kagura-chan. I was just worried about you." the brunette began to reassuringly stroke the soft red hair of her friend, beginning to smile as she held back her own tears at the situation.

"But, now I've ruined your kimono." Kagura answered, pulling back to see a wet spot on the shoulder of the older woman's garb. The darker pink stood out against the lighter tone of the kimono. Kagura tried to apologize again, half expecting some kind of discipline. She was stopped by a raised hand in front of her face, Tae's smile bright behind the raised hand.

"I said it was alright, didn't I?" Kagura's heart swelled as she wrapped the older girl in an even tighter hug, entirely forgetting her state of dress. It was just at that time that it occurred to the brunette as well. "So, Kagura, what are you doing here?" Now her voice held that all too familiar edge, sharp from her tendency to command respect wherever she went.

"Umm…" Kagura couldn't think of an adequate way to explain the situation. It occurred to her that she was still wrapped tightly in only a towel. She had a feeling that whatever she said, Gin was likely to get the worst of the punishment, but she couldn't do that to someone who had helped her out so much. As if the cosmos were trying to force her hand, he chose that moment to finish his shower.

"Ah, that always feels much better." he mumbled, ruffling his silver hair with the towel in hand. "Oh, what's going on here?" Gin's familiar voice rang from the opposite side of the living room. Both girls turned their heads in his direction, watching as he lazily strode from the bathroom.

Kagura felt a blush creep onto her cheeks as she took in the sight of him. His body was nearly completely bare, a hint of red from the hot shower. A loose pair of lime green pants hung from his waist, his upper body completely exposed. Feeling the rush of hormones of a girl her age, the red head simply stared.

If she hadn't known better, she might have thought she were drooling. She could see the outlines of his lean muscles, traces of moisture on his skin catching the light from outside. As he approached the pair of girls, he set the now wet towel across his shoulders, a brow quirked upward in confusion as he looked from the red head to brunette and back again.

After nearly a minute, his crimson eyes shot open, the color draining from his face as he took a single step backwards. "Ah, Otae-san… what a… pleasant surprise." His voice hitched a bit in fear, a feeling that Kagura could sympathize with. Not many could intimidate her, but Tae was definitely among them. Gin seemed to fully realize the situation, but before he could think of attempting an explanation, the brunette had closed the distance between them.

"What do you think you're doing, taking advantage of a young girl, you creep!?" she screamed, her face alight in near berserker rage. A single crack followed by a sickening thus as Gin's limp body fell against the cold wooden floor, blood trickling idly from his nose.

"Gin-chan!" Kagura yelled out, fearing for the safety of her newest friend. She failed to catch the hint of surprise on Tae's face as Kagura began to roughly shake Gintoki's lifeless frame. The towel fell from his shoulders, his silver locks swaying with the gesture.

_A few minutes later, once Gintoki regains consciousness_

"Geez, what's the big idea coming into my home and just throwing punches? I'll have you know, I am against the use of violence." Gintoki mumbled, holding a pack of ice against his bruised nose. The bruise could clearly be seen spreading outward from the appendage, its swelling obvious to basic sight.

"What's the big idea kidnapping poor Kagura-chan and doing such unspeakable things. I thought you were better than that, Gin-san."

"Oi, what the hell kind of things are you thinking about, you gorilla woman!?" Gin yelled, his face a curious shade of red after the accusation that had been tossed his way. Kagura could not help but blush a similar shade, knowing that she had thought of such things herself not too long before.

"Well, then why is she here, and why was she wearing only a towel?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask her." At this, the brunette spun her gaze to the red head, catching her embarrassed look. Kagura tried to look away, to somehow sink from the conversation at hand.

"So, because she's young, and can't make good decisions, you can just do whatever you want with her?"

"Like I said, nothing like that happened! You need to listen to people more!" Gin and Tae continued to harp at one another, and as Kagura's blush faded, she could swear she felt something between the two. Not an animosity over Gintoki's supposed mistake, but something else. Jealousy? No, that couldn't be…

"God, you're as crazy as ever. And so violent. You'll never land a guy with your attitude." Gintoki hurled a barb at the younger woman, wincing slightly at the death glare he got in return.

"At least I'm not worrying about indecency. I wonder if the police know that you're holding a minor in your care." Tae spat back, her smile hiding the malice of her words. Even Kagura could not help but wince at the pure venom dripping from each syllable from the older girl's mouth.

"So, what does bring you here today?" he asked, his body leaning lazily against the back of his sofa. Arms sprawled out along the top of it, he looked at the two girls opposite him, something akin to worry on his face at the sight. Inwardly he groaned to himself, cursing his bad luck. Bad enough he was dealing with this new intrusion into his life, but now he had to worry about two girls at once. This was not shaping up into a great day.

"Well… I was in the area, and thought I would check in on my number one customer." Tae answered in her sweetest voice. Casting a smile in his direction, she giggled a bit at his frustrated reaction. Kagura felt a surge of surprise in her chest. Gintoki didn't seem the type to have extra cash lying around, much less enough to waste at a cabaret club.

"What are you talking about? I'm the one who got you that job, and how do you repay me? By practically draining whatever savings I have on me at the time. Some gratitude." he responded, his lips lifting upward into a quirk. It seemed that Kagura was completely oblivious to this side of two people's relations.

"Oh, what's a little cash between friends, right Gin-san?" she asked in her most seductive yet innocent tone. An audible snap filled the room as Gintoki leaned forward, slamming his palm down on the table as he spoke.

"A _little_ cash? Last time you dragged me in there I couldn't pay my rent or utilities for 2 months. It's a miracle I'm still alive." As Kagura watched her one time sister-in-law, she thought, for only a moment, that she saw a hint of sadness, regret. Like Gin's words had hurt her more than he had intended, or than she would let on.

But the moment passed quickly, as the pair set back to their argument. "Stingy. No wonder you're not popular with the ladies, Gin-san." Tae smirked as she spoke, a hand pressed to her lips in a genuinely teasing gesture. The comment hit its mark, as Gintoki winced at the statement. Seeing an opening in his exterior, Kagura wondered if Tae would continue or leave well enough alone.

"W-who says I-I'm not good with the ladies." Gintoki tried bluffing his way out of the situation, also hoping that the brunette would leave it as is. No such luck for the hard pressed young man.

"Aww, I wonder why you are always alone then. Or maybe…" she smirked even wider as she leaned in closer to the young man, the aura around her darker than one might expect, "… those rumors are true." At this, Gintoki's entire body tensed just a bit, his crimson eyes burning beneath his tuft of silver hair.

The tension in the room was so oppressive, Kagura felt that she may just cease being able to breathe beneath it. Her blue eyes darted from one to another, curious and also somehow apprehensive about what Gin was about to say. Tae seemed to get a similar feeling as she backed away just a bit.

"Well, you should know that better than anyone, right Tae-san?" As Gintoki spoke, Kagura noticed a slight pink creep onto the brunette's cheeks, her face turning away from the silver haired young man. "That's what I thought." he responded, taking a deep breath as he calmed down.

"What does he mean, big-sis?" the red head asked innocently, noticing the change in atmosphere from oppressive to nearly… awkward? Tae seemed to be startled by the question as her hazel eyes darted quickly from Gintoki to the young girl to her side.

"We used to… date… a while ago…" Kagura's jaw involuntarily dropped in surprise. She had known Tae to be a rather difficult and demanding young woman, one who was almost always unattached. Not for lack of suitors. Many men were charmed by her wickedly misleading smile and sweet words, as well as her amazing beauty.

In the time she had know the brunette, only one man had ever caught her attention, but never got a chance to meet the young man. Somehow an ache crept into the younger girl's chest at the image of the two of them together, wondering how she could have not met the man before. As her blue eyes darted towards Gin for some kind of answer, she noticed him idly swabbing his ear, seemingly entirely disinterested in the conversation.

"A long while ago, really." he responded, with a tone of finality. Kagura could only lean back against the back of the sofa, taking in all the information she had just heard. Then, another question popped up.

"What rumor?" she asked innocently, drawing an amused chuckle from the brunette, and a stunned wince from the young man. Kagura's blue eyes looked to Tae in confusion, watching the amused grin on her face.

"Well, Kagura-chan, do you know that police officer Hijikata?" she asked the younger girl, her attention squarely focused on the matter. Gin for his part seemed desperate to get away from the dilemma, but unable to extricate himself.

"Yeah, I met him a little while ago. He and that other brat were here talking to Gin about something. Why?" she asked, drawing another chuckle from the brunette.

"Well, they actually knew each other from high school, and some people seem to think they are… you know…" Tae seemed almost giddy with the notion, catching the confused look on Kagura's face.

"What are they?" she asked, completely unfamiliar with where the older girl was going. Gintoki groaned in frustration, clearly wanting to shut the young woman up, but fearing a worse injury for the effort.

"Well, some people have the impression that they are, you know, together." Gintoki's previously light blush was gone as he sighed, as though he had heard the thing many times before. Kagura for one felt her own blush darken a shade at the thought. Gintoki certainly didn't seem the type for that, but she really didn't know anything about him.

Tae seemed to catch a hint of something in the younger girl's face, something like… disappointment. Eyes drawn in a bit of confusion, she turned her gaze to the young man across from her before shifting back towards the young girl. A knowing smile settled on her face as she leaned back against the sofa back.

"Despite that, I can say for certain that the rumor is not true. Gin-san is just… very unique." she added, watching with delight at the look of relief on Kagura's face. _'I wonder if she knows it herself.'_ Tae thought to herself, unable to hide the smile on her soft features.

"So what _ARE_ you doing here, Tae-san?" he asked, the irritation in his voice replaced with curiosity. The young woman straightened herself out, adjusting her soft brown hair as she looked at him.

"Well, like I said, I was in the area and wanted to check in on my favorite customer." she answered, smiling her rare genuine smile. Kagura felt herself brighten just a bit at the gesture.

"How kind of you. But isn't this an awfully long way from your place for you to just "be in the area"? What's really going on?" No hint of malice or mistrust sat upon anything he said. But the young red head noticed a slight droop in the smile of her older friend, her head dropping just a bit as she responded.

"I wanted to warn you, Gin-san."

"Warn me about what?"

"You know there is a war coming, right?" At this, Gintoki's face hardened a bit, and Kagura was reminded of the two officers who had come by earlier.

"Those guys who were here gave you that poster, right? Wasn't that talking about a war? What does this have to do with you, Gin-chan?" Kagura asked, watching as Gintoki turned his gaze from the pair of girls.

"You haven't told her, Gin-san?" Tae asked almost… hesitantly. Her only response was a quick click of his tongue, indicating that it was a sore subject.

"Told me what?" Kagura asked, not enjoying being left in the dark on anything. Tae smiled reassuringly at her before speaking again.

"It's nothing important, Kagura-chan. More importantly, Gin-san?" she asked, drawing his attention back to her. "Do you have anything I can change into for work?" she asked sweetly, smiling as he hiked a thumb towards his room.

"It's all still there. Couldn't stand to throw it away, you know?" he answered, feeling a gentle tug on his shoulder.

"Aww, you're such a softie, Gin-san. You wouldn't mind helping me a bit, right?" The usual tone of her voice returning, he figured it was better than the alternative: a heavy beating.

"I'll be right back Kagura-chan." he spoke, his eyes half closed as he trudged towards his room a short distance behind the young brunette. As they disappeared into the large room, Kagura let her back rest harshly against the suddenly uncomfortable sofa. Falling onto her side, she tried to find a good position, to no avail.

"What am I doing…?" she asked to herself, rolling onto her back, reaching her hand idly out towards the ceiling. So much had been pushed into her mind in one short morning. It seemed that Gintoki was hiding something important about himself, and that Tae for one knew what it was. The girl's crystalline eyes shot open as she recalled the other piece of information that had been kicking around in her head.

'_We used to… date… a while ago…'_ The words sent an odd chill down her spine, and she shot straight up. Casting a glance towards the room where they disappeared to, she heard a loud thump. Were they… no, they wouldn't… would they?

Without paying attention, the young girl's body had crept towards the room, her back leaning against the nearest wall. Craning her neck, she pressed her ear against the door, trying to get some inkling of what was happening in the room. It wasn't her business, really, she knew that. But she felt compelled to know for sure. Something deep in her wanted to know the nature of their relationship.

"…-ing Gin-san?" Tae's voice barely registered in her hearing, the door muffling a large amount of the sound. From the sounds of it, Tae was on one side of the room, a gentle rustling sound adding itself to her voice. Kagura felt herself blush before collapsing to the floor, images of the pair of them together.

"It's nothing important. It'll all work out somehow, you know." Gin's voice sounded like he was trying to reassure the young woman about something. From her limited time in the room, she estimated that he must be sitting on the edge of his bed. Involuntarily, the young girl pulled her knees up towards her chest, wrapping her arms around the slender appendages.

It was true. They were an item, to put it one way. Something within the girl felt cold, numb. Even though he had taken her in, he was seeing the sister of her one time husband. The betrayal felt so intense, she felt she would cry.

"It's not 'nothing important.'. They're never going to leave you alone, Gin-san." Perking her head up a bit, Kagura got an impression that they must be arguing, but not the same biting, sinister type from earlier that morning. It was more concern being rebuffed by callousness. What were they talking about?

"Look, no use worrying about things that aren't certain, right?" Gintoki's voice sounded so confident on the surface, but even through the door Kagura could detect something else. Uncertainty. "I still don't know why they're so interested. Not like it happened recently or anything." A soft creak of springs as Gintoki lay down upon his bed, followed by another creak. Another body joining him on the piece of furniture. Tae.

"That's just what happens when you're famous, Gin-san." The woman's voice sounded amused, jovial. Yet, her words felt cold and harsh to the young girl. It didn't make any sense. Tae had never been anything but nice to her, and yet, hearing her speak to the silver haired young man felt… painful. Clutching her chest for some comfort, she pressed her face tightly against her knees. Tears threatened to come out, her body unable to move from her position outside his door.

"Who's famous? How could something like that be true?" he asked, his usual carefree tone making the girl smile.

"You know, she's going to find out eventually, Gin-san. Like I said, they won't leave you alone." Confusion. Were they talking about her? What did she have to do with their relationship?

"She won't find out. And even if she does, it's not like it matters. It's all in the past. No use digging it up." he responded after an almost eternal pause. The red head turned her gaze towards the door, paying careful attention to the conversation.

"Gin-san, you're really clueless aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've seen her, right? The large umbrella she carries? The pale skin?" Kagura's heart tightened. No! She couldn't. Why would she bring that up? Her breaths came in quick, harsh bursts, wanting to burst in and stop the young woman from spilling her secret.

"Heh. Of course I can tell. But like I said, what does that have to do with anything? So what if she is that way? Amanto or human, we're all just trying to make our way in the world, right? Besides, I can tell she's a good kid." her face warmed just a bit at his words. He didn't care if she was not human. It didn't matter to him. The tears she had been holding back fell from her eyes, blurring the sights before her.

"She really is. But, do you think she will be as accepting when she finds out?" Kagura felt a foreboding tension in her chest, the tears slipping down her soft cheeks as she listened. Gintoki made no sound, seemingly stumped by the question.

"Do you think any Amanto girl would be so accepting of you if they found out why you're famous on Earth?" She was not being mean, or malicious. It seemed she was looking out for him, but what secret could be so bad that an alien girl would be pushed away from him.

"Well, we'll find out if it comes to that, I guess."

"And what happens when that war starts, and they decide they need the famous 'Shiroyasha' in their ranks, tearing you from this lazy life you're living?"

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**Woo, drama. Hints at Gintoki's past. Can Kagura accept him when she finds out his dark secret? Next chapter will probably be early drama, later parts fluff. Then 2 or 3 chapters of pure fluff before a conclusion. So, 5 more chapters or so until the story is resolved. I am going to try and get those updates before the end of the week. I really want to get this story finished, because it is fun to write once I get going. Again, sorry for the delay in posting this. Hope you all enjoy the update, and next chapter will be solely GinKagu. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 05:**

**Rating: T**

**Alright, here is chapter 5. Hopefully I can get the last 3 chapters done by the end of the weekend, and maybe a fourth depending on how the others play out. This one felt a bit weird to me, especially at the beginning. Hopefully I will figure out how to do a good start one of these days :P Anyway, here is the next chapter of Once Upon A Time Girl.

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The tension and tightness in the girl's chest dropped, replaced with a cold, foreboding chill. Had she heard correctly? It must be some kind of mistake, right? A shiver coursed through her body, her hands clutching tightly at either shoulder as her mind searched through her memories for what she had been told about that particular name.

Only once, in her younger years, her father had sat her upon his lap and told her a story. It was something she had overheard a few of the other kids talking about, but had never been sure exactly to what it referred. Even now she could remember the way her father's body tensed as he told the story, from fear or excitement she could never determine.

She did remember looking at him with all her innocence and trust, anxious for him to tell her a story. But the fear that accompanied it was not something a little girl could ever expect. A story of a veritable boogieman from a distant world, thirsting for the blood of innocents.

A story of a single battle, barely more than a skirmish. Amanto who had gone to peacefully make contact with the inhabitants of a lesser developed world. Natives who had reacted with fierce hatred and brutality, with a single man standing out from the rest.

One man, clad entirely in a deceptively pure white. Crimson eyes that shone with the fires of a dark hell, malice filling his sight. An evil grin, laughing as he became stained with blood from his victims. He could incite fear into any who saw him with only a look, his presence overpowering all around him.

To think back on it now, she remembered how she had clung to her father's arm, trying to escape the visions that filled her young mind. Visions of a demon, fangs dripping with blood as he laughed through the carnage had given her nightmares, ones that still occasionally had haunted her. But she had always forgotten the silver hair, held back with a solid white headband.

Kagura's brief escape into her memory was shaken as a hand found its way to her shoulder. On instinct, the girl tensed up, eyes widening as she looked to the source of the caring grip. Tae said nothing, only smiling reassuringly at the young girl. Words failed to reach her lips as her mind raced with a thousand thoughts at once. She watched as the young brunette, clad now in a slightly darker red kimono, straightened herself into a standing position.

The young woman simply smiled reassuringly to her friend, before casting her gaze once more back towards Gintoki's bedroom. A gentle wave of the hand and the young woman was off, and Kagura felt the old fears from the story welling up inside of her. The click of the front door drove the point home, and the young red head began to panic.

The so-called "White Demon" was in the next room. What was she supposed to do? All sense of reason seemed to leave her, and she found herself indescribably scared. Yet, even as she thought of the young man who had taken her in when she was near the end of her rope. Could he really be the same cold blooded killer she had been told about?

"Kagura?" his deep voice sent another shock through her lithe frame, her body tensing involuntarily at the suddenness. "I told you it's not nice to spy on people." Clutching tightly at her chest, the young girl cast a glance towards the front door, wondering if she would be able to make it if the need arose.

A soft rustling of cloth accompanied the squeak of springs as Gin adjusted his position on the bed. Inhaling deeply, Kagura decided that she might as well make use of his seeming openness and find out the truth for herself. Gathering her courage, the young girl stood from her position outside his door, and turned directly towards the doorframe.

"Kagura?" his voice showed a bit of surprise as he watched her quickly make her way into the room, chest heaving in almost fearful breaths. Propping himself on his elbows, he watched as the girl robotically made her way towards him, each step forced and deliberate. An idle chuckle escaped his lips as she took a seat on the bed a short distance from him, her face tightened into a comically serious expression.

"You look silly. Why don't you relax? I don't bite or anything." Gintoki added, folding his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. In his mind, he imagined he knew exactly what was going through her own head, and he couldn't blame her for being so tense in his presence. Somehow, that thought sent a pang of pain through his chest, truly not wanting the bright young girl to be pushed away by something in his past.

"Is it true?" she asked, pulling her knees to her chest, eyes never leaving his strong frame. The small comfort of the black shirt she had been given warmed her slightly as his gaze never shifted from the ceiling. For a moment, she saw a look of hurt on his face. Was he upset over her spying on him, or…

"It's true…" he admitted honestly, but with that hint of sadness. Kagura's own heart stung just a bit at his admission, a million more questions burning through her mind as she watched his body for any sign of movement.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't you?" he responded, his crimson orbs finally capturing her in his gaze. Her crystal blue eyes darted away from his, not having a good answer to his question.

"It's not the same thing…" she responded finally, fear giving way to anger. Her soft features hardened as she glared at him, brows knitting together as she nearly broke into a shout. "You killed innocent people! How could you just keep something like that to yourself!?"

His only response was an incredulous look, then a cynical, amused laugh. "Is that it? You're upset about that?" he asked, his mouth quivering with his laugh, as though the words that had escaped her own lips were somehow comical, to be ridiculed.

"What's so funny?" she asked, blushing a bit at the thought that she was the butt of some kind of joke. The anger vanished as she felt his warm hand on her forearm, his crimson eyes changing right before her eyes. Any hint of sadness she might have seen vanished, replaced with the warmth and caring that he had shown her since they met.

"I did kill a few people, there is no denying that. That is a burden I will have to carry on my back forever." his laugh died down, voice calming as he spoke, his hand still holding lightly on her slender arm.

Kagura tried to focus on her anger, to not be fooled by his words. She tried not to focus on how warm his hand was against her skin, how comforting it was. How much she wanted it to be a deeper touch.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, eyes softening as she gazed at him. Gone was her intense glare, filled with the righteous anger. Now all she felt was curiosity, wondering if maybe she had been misled.

"I don't really like to go into things that happened so long ago. It's pointless to worry about the past."

"But you told big-sis about it. Is it just because you were sleeping together?" the words nearly fell out of her mouth, her chest constricting as they echoed through the room. The thought of her long time friend and her newest friend being together somehow hurt, in a deep part of her heart. A part that she thought would never feel again.

"…" For a moment, he simply stared at her, seemingly playing through his options in his mind. She figured he would just let the topic drop, leaving her with a number of doubts and worries going forward. "Well, I bet you heard the "innocent victims killed by barbaric natives" version of the story, right?" he asked, his voice clearly indicating that he had told the story enough times by now and was quite sick of it.

"Yeah, that's what my papi told me when I was little. The story of the "white demon" was known pretty well. Is that really you?" Gin's face seemed to tighten just a bit, his smile so much sadder than it had seemed only moments before.

"Ah, the "white demon", huh?" Turning his slightly, he watched as the girl scooted a bit closer to him, her body still held in a very defensive posture. "Weird how things you want to live down are the things that haunt you forever, eh?"

"So it is true?" Just a trace of disappointment that he had come to expect associated with the story. Pulling his hand from her soft arm, he tucked it back behind his head as he continued.

"Yeah, it's true. But the origin of the story is a bit different. It's not quite the "barbaric natives" version you've heard. Living in the real world, you come to realize that things are seldom the fault of one person. I'm sure you've thought of that as well, right?"

Blue eyes widened just a bit, her head nodding in affirmation of his statement. In truth, she had been so scared by the story when her father had told her, that she had not thought to question the validity of the single perspective version of the story.

"Well, when the aliens showed up, the people around here were, unsurprisingly, quite mixed in their acceptance. But those guys were certainly not as peaceful as you probably heard. They were able to defend themselves pretty well, so it wasn't the slaughter I'm sure you envisioned."

"So then how did you get involved?"

"I was caught up in a group of people with a rather isolated mindset, thinking about stupid stuff like "purity of the human race" and stuff like that." At that he nearly laughed, a mirthless, dry chuckle as he sighed. "You know, people can be pretty stupid, especially when they're teenagers." This seemed to not only be a recollection of his past, but a jab at the young girl to his side.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, attempting to slam a fist into his open stomach. But as he caught the small hand, she could not help the smile that that crossed her lips. It seemed strange that where she should be doubting his story, holding onto her loyalty to the version her father told her, she found it difficult. While the other version made the Earthlings out to be barbaric people, Gintoki's recollection seemed less biased. "Okay, so what happened after that?" she asked, fighting the blush on her cheeks as she pulled her hand away.

"Well, as tends to happen, there was an argument. A group of guys went down to where the aliens had set up camp, and wanted to have a… chat with them." The way he said the word chat left the definition up to Kagura's young mind, but she had a good idea what he was getting at.

"Well, the aliens made some backhanded remarks, refusing to just leave things alone. They saw the group as insulting them, and demanded some kind of retribution in payment." With that statement, Gintoki's face darkened a bit, any hint of a smile disappearing from his face as he thought back to the event in question.

Unconsciously, the young girl closed the remaining distance between herself and the young man, resting her hand reassuringly on his well muscled arm. He seemed to brighten a bit with the simple gesture, a trace of a smile returning to his face as he continued the story.

"So, seeing the request to leave as something of an insult, the aliens got a little defensive, pulling out their weapons to try and intimidate the group of us. Their leader simply stayed in place, confident that his goons could handle any threat we might have posed. Once the others started to back off, he gave us a "generous" offer in order to forget what happened."

"What kind of offer?" Kagura asked, a bit shakily as she had determined that there was only a few ways to rile up a group of angry men.

"They wanted to be given the best girls in the town, and a formal apology."

"I assume you didn't stand for that."

"You're pretty sharp, Kagura. Normally, I wouldn't have even been there, but my two idiot friends had dragged me there, claiming it was some kind of duty to expel the "foreign invaders" or some such nonsense."

"So what did you do, Gin-chan?" Action stories had always been Kagura's favorite, and at the prospect of a good dust-up, she perked up noticeably.

"I don't remember much, except that while the fat boss type was laughing his generically disgusting laugh, my more hotheaded buddy had already lopped off the poor guy's head." Here Gintoki made the appropriate gesture for beheading, adding a sickening spluttering sound for good effect.

"Before anything could be said, me and Katsura had jumped in to help Takasugi. The surprise must have sent the guys into shock, since it didn't take long for the aliens to go down. All except one." Gin seemed to relive the moments in his mind, a flash of the carnage shining in his eyes.

"Gin-chan?" Kagura hesitantly asked, tightening her grip on his arm as he seemed to go silent for a moment. Looking at the young girl, Gintoki tried to give her a reassuring look, noticing the worry in her eyes at his silence.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway, we decided to let the guy go, and he took the offer. He gathered up the bodies of his comrades and bolted, never to be seen again. We figured that would be the end of it, but now and then the story comes back again. People have such long memories for unpleasant stuff, eh?"

"So why are you so famous, Gin-chan?" While Sakata Gintoki was certainly not well known, often were the times she heard the names 'Shiroyasha' or 'White Demon'.

"Who knows. I remember someone a long time ago told me I had a gift with the sword, but if you ask me, that's a pretty useless skill." To hear him tell the story, Kagura felt as though there were no true innocent party in the affair, and wondered how it got so blown out of proportion.

"So what about the "war" big-sis mentioned?"

"You know, things like that always come down to big headed politicians acting self important, and it never goes well. So, everyone thinks that eventually the Amanto will just come down and take what they want."

"But what does that have to do with you? You don't want to fight, right? So it shouldn't matter." The girl asked, voice just above pleading. Gintoki noticed her tone, the oddly panicked expression on her face and smiled. Taking his hand from behind his head, he rubbed her head soothingly, watching her face rise into a cute, warm smile.

"In a war, the government can just decide they need more troops, and just institute a draft. Not much you can do about it, unless you just move somewhere else."

"Then you could move." The smile remained on her face, imagining her and him disappearing, just the two of them. But as she imagined him fighting, covered in the thick, red substance that sprung forth from an open wound, tears began to burn at the back of her eyes.

"Idiot. I like it here. No reason to leave, especially since nothing is set in stone yet." He let his hand fall from the top of her head, to her cheek. Cupping the soft flesh in his hand, the young man smiled, watching her nuzzle the cheek closer to his touch.

As they sat there for a few moments, everything seemed to blur. Gin could not tear his gaze from the soft, impossibly warm creature next to him. Her red hair cascading around her shoulders, slender frame wrapped messily within one of his spare shirts. With a minor effort of his muscles, he pulled the girl's head towards him. She put up no resistance, and her eyes shone in the bits of light in the room. The bright blue shimmered, and he felt like he was drowning in their clear depths.

"Gin-chan…" she whispered, her lips only a few inches from his. Her eyes lidded half closed, feeling his warm breath on her pink lips. Hands propping herself up, resting on either side of him, she gazed down into his raspberry tone eyes, hearing her heart pounding in her ears.

"I-I can't…" she felt torn. A large part of her wanted to simply lean in, close the distance between them, and let whatever may happen happen. But another part of her wanted to be equally honest with him, to spill everything that she was to him. He would surely accept her past, as she had done with his. She told herself that, yet the words only slowly made their way to her lips.

"It's not fair to you-" Just as she began to speak, he had leaned up, capturing her full lips with his own. Bliss. Pure, electrical bliss pulsed through her body at the full contact. Fingers clenched around bits of the sheets as the kiss seemed to fulfill everything she found she had wanted.

Taking as well as giving her unbelievable strength, and life. Painful yet so enjoyable, the heat of his lips on hers adding to the fire that burned within her. She thought for an instant that he indeed had experience, before all rational thought vanished from her mind. All she could feel was the kiss, all she could think of was the young man beneath her.

She felt his hand rest at the small of her back, pulling her frame against his fully, capturing her small sounds of pleasure within his mouth. The girl could feel his lips pull into an amused smile at the gesture, knowing that he now had something precious of hers. Then, all too soon for her taste, the pair pulled apart. Her hair fell around her face, the tips brushing carelessly against his face.

"I know, Kagura." he answered her unspoken question, brushing the red locks behind her ear. A small, nearly inaudible gasp escaped her lips as she stared at him. Her blue eyes widened as she noticed the knowing, wry smile on his face. But after the initial shock wore off, her face fell into a smile as she leaned down on her own, resting her head on his shoulder.

"How did you know?" she asked, throwing an arm around him as he held her closer.

"I guess old habits really hard to drop. Not hard to tell since you called her big-sis." He teasingly chuckled at her expense, and she burrowed her head further against his shoulder.

"Damn it." she cursed lightly, smiling against his warm skin as she lamented her bad habit. But she had been right. Without even having to spill it on her own, he had figured it out on his own, and had accepted her.

Removing her head from its perch at his shoulder, the young girl moved so that she was again staring down into his deep, yet oddly vacant crimson eyes. A smile etched on her face she leaned down, capturing his lips with her own.

Apparently a God she didn't believe in had given her a second chance, and she was going to make the most of it.

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**Wow, I wasn't originally intending on leaving the ending like that, but it just sort of happened. Sort of feels like an end of story kind of thing, doesn't it? I am not planning on this being the end, so I guess it is just a weird way to end a chapter. Next two chapters will be Gintoki x Kagura fluff, of different varieties. Might creep it up into M territory, but who knows. Anyway, look forward to more GinKagu fluff fellow fans.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 06**

**Rating: T**

**Well folks, here is chapter 6. Only 2 more to go after this, so I am going to try my best to get those out by the end of the weekend. This one was a bit hard to write in the middle, and I had a hard time settlin on what I wanted to write. It ends up as a sort of total closure to what happened to Shinpachi and we get a little taste of Gintoki's part time job here. Not as much fluff as I would like, but it will come. That said, enjoy.

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_Closing his eyes, Gin tried desperately to move forward just a bit more, seeking to be even closer, to gain more contact with the object of his desires. Hands resting squarely on soft, round hips, he savored the feel of bare skin moving carelessly against his own. Slender arms wrapped around his neck, legs mirroring the action around his waist. _

_His ears burned with the soft, sensual sounds of her pleasure, even as her soft hair brushed against his chest. The seemingly slender frame fit into his grasp nearly perfectly, their bodies melding together in the most intimate of acts between man and woman. _

_The sound of his name on her lips thrilled him, the single word dripping with pure lust. All he could focus on was the warm feeling within his body, fearing that should he open his eyes then the experience would end. He felt the small frame adjusting against him, her lips moving closer to his ear._

_As much as he tried, he could not hear the words that she spoke. The gasps and other myriad sounds became more frantic, more desperate. Tilting his head down he captured her full, pink lips with his own, pressing his tongue passionately into the depths of her warm mouth. He could feel the final results of their union coming forth, his body tensing in anticipation._

_*Riiiiiing*_

"…mmmph?" The silver haired young man found his eyes hanging half open, looking accusingly around the room.

*riiiiiiiiiiing*

'_Damnit. What the hell…?'_ he grumbled in his own mind, casting a sidelong glance at the warm creature to his right. A smile crossing his face, he considered ignoring the incoming call, and tracking down the culprit who had interrupted his pleasant dream at a more convenient time.

*Riiiiing*

The tension in his head only increased, until he figured that whoever it was must want something important. Carefully removing the girl's arm from its perch around his waist, he then slid carefully from the warm embrace of his bed. The feel of cold wood against his bare feet sent an uncomfortable chill through his body, and he considered again just crawling back into bed.

*Riiiiiiiing*

'_That better be the mayor wanting to give me a parade or something.'_ he thought, groggily pulling himself into a standing position. Taking a few grudging steps towards the door, he gave one last look towards the red head still sleeping carelessly in his bed. The smile on her face warmed him a bit, and he felt one make its way across his own face.

"How lucky, to be able to just sleep so carefree…" he lamented, silently closing the door behind him as he exited the room. The irritating sound of a phone ringing echoed loudly in his ear, and the brief hint of positivity he got looking at Kagura's sleeping form began to quickly dissipate. Quickly grabbing the receiver from its hook, he put the phone to his ear, clearing his throat before speaking.

"What the hell is it so early in the morning?" he asked clearly and crisply, hoping his irritation would dissuade whoever it was from speaking. His hope was soon dashed as the all too familiar idiotic laugh echoed from the other end of the phone.

"_Well, looks like I caught you after all Kintoki."_ The irritating laugh continued to echo in his ear, even as one of his oldest friends messed his name up. It was not something he could truly get too angry about, as Zura would also get mad when not addressed properly.

"What is it, you idiot?"

"_Ah, so rough so early in the morning? You must have had a bad night's sleep or something."_ Tatsuma tried to sound intelligent and worried, but his usual idiotic tone remained in place. With a slight smile on his face, Gintoki thought that it was actually a quite restful slumber. It had been some time since he had the pleasure of a woman's company to share his bed.

"So what is it so early in the morning?" he asked, dragging the phone with him over towards the nearest sofa. Taking a seat on the piece of furniture, he began to think about the only reason this particular friend called, and regretted picking up the phone.

"_You know, it would be a big help if you would give us a hand today. Things aren't going too smoothly."_

"With you as the president, that's not too surprising. What does Mutsu have to say about it?"

"_Well, it was actually her idea. It's hard to ignore your success rate at this particular kind of thing."_ Gin could hear the happiness in his friend's voice, and couldn't help but feel a hint of pride. Though it was not something he liked doing too often, he didn't mind having a well appreciated talent.

"So, what's the deal?" he asked, somewhat impatiently. If he was going to have work, he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

"_Actually, Mutsu should be there any minute, so get ready and she'll fill you in on the way."_ The stitch that had been steadily growing on his forehead felt as though it were about to explode, figuring that he had been tricked.

"Damnit. What made you think I would accept just like that? It would be pretty unfair for her to come out here if I said no, don't you think?"

"_Hahahaha. Like I said, it was her idea in the first place. She seems to trust you more than me, I wonder why?"_ Gintoki felt like throwing an insult in, but decided against it.

"Ugh. Fine. But you owe me big for this. I was so comfortable…" With a heavy sigh, he listened to the last bits of apology and gratitude from his friend. Once the receiver was on its perch upon the hook, he tore the cord from the wall before collapsing against the back of his sofa.

"This is going to be a long day." He knew that Mutsu would only make the call for him when it was something she could not handle herself, and that usually involved rather rough customers. Even though he did a good job at these matters, and he was pretty much an independent resource, Gin didn't like to just be chalked up as good to go. He would definitely have to make sure to give Mutsu and Tatsuma both a talking to.

"Sakata-dono, are you home?" his thoughts were interrupted by the young woman in question.

'_Just when did she leave to get here so early.'_ Taking a forced breath, Gin made his way towards the front door, completely forgetting his appearance. As he slid open the front door, he noticed the mildly confused look on the young woman's face.

"Something wrong?" he asked, his own brow rising in mirrored confusion. The brunette sighed, some comment about his lack of professionalism as she indicated his state of dress. Casting a look downward at himself, he invited the woman in until he could shower and change.

With a courteous bow, the young woman made her way towards his sofa, removing her heavy overcoat as she walked. Proper as usual, he smirked as she set the garment across a nearby armrest.

"Ah, so stiff as usual. You and Tae are both going to have hard times finding a man at that rate." he mumbled, dismissively waving a hand in the air as he headed towards his bedroom. Figuring that he was getting an intense death glare, or a look of indifference, Gin saw no reason to look back until he was ready.

Idly sliding the door open, he rubbed the lower parts of his back, making an attempt to stretch out from the comfortable night's sleep. Once again, the bed looked quite enticing, and he had to stop himself from making his way towards it. A frustrated groan, and he made his way towards the nearby dresser. As he dug through his clothing, looking for something suitable in the way of underwear, a thought occurred to him.

He suddenly wondered how long it would be until Kagura was taking up dresser space with her own clothing. An amused smile played on his lips at the thought, wondering if Kagura was wearing anything even at that moment.

"Gin-chan?" the soft, sweet voice echoed weakly from the bed. Turning slightly, he watched as she tried to rub the sleep from her deep blue eyes.

"What is it, Kagura?" he asked in return, lazily running his fingers through the thick silver locks atop his head. The girl's head cocked a bit to the side, taking in the sight of him.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Ah, a friend of mine called and he needs some help with something, so I gotta go to work today."

"Work?" It had just occurred to Kagura that she had no idea what Gintoki did for money. From what he had mentioned, it was likely that he could make great money taking advantage of his physical gifts. But he gave a much too peaceful impression for that.

"Yeah. Old friend just needs my help in, uh, closing out a deal." Gin was sure of his job, but he never liked to explain it. The last thing he needed was a large number of people realizing his deeper qualities.

"Oh." The red head's voice sounded sad, lonely. Resting a knee upon the surface of the mattress, Gin leaned down towards the young girl. Planting a soft, sweet kiss on her lips, he watched as her face lit up in a dark flush.

"Don't worry. It usually doesn't take long." he reassured the girl, casually ruffling her soft red hair. The smile on her face returned as she nodded before collapsing back into the bed. Giving the girl one more warm smile, Gin exited the room, leaving his new roommate to her own devices.

"So, who is that?" Mutsu asked from her position on the sofa, face turned only slightly in his direction. Taking a few steps towards the bathroom, Gin cast a glance to the brunette before speaking.

"Just a little kitten I picked up." He smiled at that, watching the slightly confused look on the young woman's face. Sliding the door to the bathroom closed, Gintoki lamented the necessity for working, especially at being on the short list for his friend Tatsuma. Maybe Kagura's idea of just running off together wouldn't be so bad…

Turning the dials for the shower, Gin ran his hand beneath the water, being sure the temperature was right before entering the shower. Once he was satisfied with the intense heat, he removed the last articles of clothing adorning his body before slipping into the hot water.

The gentle beating of the water against his skin soothed any agony he felt for heading off to work today, any tension he felt as the prospect of a day away from his new roommate. Watching the water cascade off of his well built frame, he let his thoughts wander until they focused on the young red head.

It had only been a matter of a few days, yet he found himself enjoying even the most simple of exchanges between them a great deal. Craning his neck, he let the hot water cover as much of him as he could, savoring the warmth. "It's just one day. It's not like I _need_ to be around her." he muttered to himself, trying to put on an air of certainty as he finished his shower.

Taking the first step from the hot shower as usual proved the most difficult, but remembering his need for money Gin hurried to move from the steam-filled room. Slipping on a pair of solid blue boxers, he ruffled the black towel through his silver hair, feeling a few droplets of water landing upon his shoulders and back.

"Ah, that is the way to start the day." he exclaimed, exiting from the bathroom with the towel draped across his shoulders. The cool morning air rushed against his warm skin as he walked, the soft padding of footsteps across the cool wood echoing against the walls of the living room.

"Well, we are almost out of time, so hurry it up." His visitor seemed just a little more bothered than usual at his lazy demeanor, and he found a single brow quirking upward in curiosity. Shaking it off, he entered his own room, watching Kagura's appreciative glance.

"Geez, have you no shame, Gin-chan? Walking around half naked like that, how indecent." The girl teased, her smile barely more than a suggestive leer in his direction. Not wanting to give the girl the win in the argument, he shot a look in her own direction, smirking at her own state of dress.

"Ah, look who's talking. At least I'm wearing my own clothes, and underwear." He added, watching the girl's eyes narrow in confusion before shooting open in surprise. The covers seemed to move nearly on their own, her slender fingers gripping the edges of the comforter as she held it against her body.

Above the edge of the covering, Gin could still see the dark blush on her face, blue eyes shimmering in the morning light. Giving her an amused laugh, the young man dug around in the closet for an appropriate suit for the affair at hand.

Producing a matching set of navy slacks and coat, he then rooted around for a shirt. Each one seemed to fail the inspection, until he came across a suitable shirt of white with darker pinstripes. Topping it off, he quickly grabbed a black necktie before tossing the whole bunch onto the bed.

"Damn it, this is such a pain." he muttered as he slipped his feet through the pant legs, hating the feel of the stiff fabric against his skin. Adjusting it around his waist, he slipped the black leather belt through the holes, making sure that the button and zipper were done correctly.

"You don't like wearing formal clothes, Gin-chan?" Kagura asked, the blanket falling to a more comfortable position around her waist as she watched him dress.

"Who would? It's all so stiff and boring." The complaining tone of his voice made the idea stick. But his gruffness seemed to dissipate for a bit as he slipped his arms into the sleeves of the shirt, the finer fabric covering his well sculpted arms. Straightening the shirt out, Gin set about doing the buttons, his body producing a few goosebumps as the smooth cloth covered his torso.

"You don't seem to mind the shirts at least." Kagura pointed out, earning a somewhat vacant stare from the older man.

"I guess it's not all bad." he admitted, grabbing the black tie. Looping it around the collar, he fumbled a bit with getting the knot correct. "This is the part that I hate dealing with." Gin continued to complain even as the knot came into form. Looking himself over in the mirror, the silver haired young man smiled in appraisal of his look. Turning quickly, he grabbed the coat, slipping his arms through the sleeves. Once it was straight, he looked himself over once in the body mirror adorning the inside of the closet door.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked, turning so that Kagura could have a full view of his formal look. Gin grinned at the almost stupefied look on her face, the breath catching a bit in her throat as she looked him over. Finally clearing her throat, she tore her gaze away from him before answering.

"I guess you look alright." she conceded, not wanting to give him too much credit, despite the somersaults her heart seemed to be doing. To herself at least, she had to admit that he looked quite good.

"Thanks." he said, a tone that said that he knew what she really thought. Making a few minor adjustments, he made his way towards her side of the bed, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. "See you later. Just make sure it's all in one piece when I get back." he teased, earning him a pout from the younger girl.

"So, you're finally ready to go?" Gintoki rolled his eyes as he closed the bedroom door, forgetting completely that the brunette lady had bee waiting the entire time. Slipping his feet into the hard soled shoes, resting against the sofa as he tied them tightly.

"As ready as ever, Mutsu." he answered, knowing that the young lady hated to be addressed in such a casual way. He watched as she steadily made her way towards the front door, their shoes clacking against the hardwood floor.

As they climbed into the rather luxurious car, Gintoki thought about what would happen over the course of this day. Would Kagura be alright on her own? Would she just handle the chores and other minor things? Would she even stick around without him there? Somehow, the last thought stung him in the chest, and he felt an urge to just rush back into the house.

"You coming?" Mutsu's no-nonsense voice broke his thought, bringing him back to the present.

"Y-yeah." he mumbled, sliding into the passenger's seat before shutting the door. As the two drove off, Gin felt his gaze holding on the small house, a feeling of… loss rolling around his head.

As Mutsu explained the particulars of the assignment, Gintoki found it exceedingly difficult to pay attention. Apparently he would be dealing with a somewhat shady character, an apparently crooked member of the royalty somewhere. The entire thing was a prospect that was not especially appealing to him.

"You understand?" the woman's gruff voice woke him from his stupor, and he looked quickly around, trying to get a feel for the surroundings.

"Yeah, yeah. Same as usual, right? No problem." Looking at his watch, he realized he may well have fallen asleep as the poor girl had been talking, as it had been close to 2 hours since they had left.

Exiting the large automobile, Gintoki eyed the fancy structure in front of him suspiciously. The only people who inhabited such gaudy structures in his experience were successful businesspeople, royalty and mobsters. Given his friend's business, any of these were a distinct possibility, and he suddenly wished he had been paying attention to the young woman to his right.

"Nice place." he muttered weakly, watching the sunlight glinting off of the glass, the building towering at least 200 feet above his head. It was not a place he felt comfortable, and could not wait until the matter was closed.

Letting Mutsu lead him through the fancy corridors, Gin kept his hands planted firmly in his pockets, eyeing the fancy paintings and sculptures that adorned the walls. Each clack of hard soles against marble floors echoed lazily through the corridors, deathly silence hanging heavy in the air.

"You weren't paying attention to what I said again, were you?" Mutsu accused as they stepped onto the elevator. Gintoki merely shrugged his shoulders, as he turned to lean against the back side of the small box.

"Well, I guess as long as you get the job done, it doesn't matter." the young woman added, an oddly amused smile on her face as she pressed the button to head upward. With a brief start, the elevator began its ascent, the hum of the engine adding to the oddly tense atmosphere.

With a sense of idleness, Gintoki watched the needle move across the semi circle above the elevator door. He watched the numbers tick slowly upward. '_6... 7... 8.'_ he thought to himself as the elevator came to a stop, he and the young brunette lurching a bit with that.

As the doors slid open, Gin's eyes widened, and he cursed his luck at having to deal with this particular problem. Lining either side of the wall along the corridor were a few men in dark black suits, his options narrowed from government official to mafia boss, one of which would only be slightly better than the other.

"Shall we?" Mutsu asked, motioning towards the far end of the hallway. Nodding in agreement, Gintoki left his hands in his pockets. He was always impressed with the girl's ability to seemingly ignore the heaviness of the atmosphere in situations like this, and proceed as usual. That was probably why she was the real leader of the business.

As they approached the end of the long hallway, a pair of guards opened a large double door, adorned with what Gin noticed might be dragons, but somehow different. Something almost alien about the design. Shrugging the matter off, his shoulders slumped at the sight of the large table in the room. Each seat was filled with similar people, each with serious expressions and an atmosphere of seriousness.

Certainly not the kind of thing he would like to be dealing with. Following Mutsu to one side of the table, she took a seat across from what he supposed must be the boss of the other group. Gintoki felt his eyes knit together a bit in confusion. Somehow the purple looking man at the other end of the table seemed familiar. Stroking his chin in thought, he took his seat to Mutsu's left, and leaned back in his chair.

It was not his place to deal with all the tedious negotiations, but he kept his gaze on the goofy looking purple alien. The small tentacle on his forehead and tufts of black curls on either side of his head were so familiar, but Gintoki could not quite place it. The shrill, nasal sounding voice did not help, and he wanted desperately to be back at his home, listening to the soft, soothing sounds of the young girl taking up residence with him.

All the factors came into focus at once, and Gintoki felt his crimson eyes burn with a long buried passion as he narrowed his gaze at the young "Prince". Karma seemed to be grudgingly helping him out on this day, and he payed a silent thanks to the deities.

"Ah, ah. This is all so boring. Mutsu-san, do you think you could get me alone with the Idiot Prince over there?" he asked, taking note of the brunette's surprise and the gasps of shock from the assorted people gathered in the room.

"Why would you want to? Negotiations are still going alright, so you're not-" Gintoki's eyes said all that he needed them to, and Mutsu felt an odd trembling in her body as she looked at him. The others who caught a glimpse at his crimson eyes had a similar reaction, and the tension jumped significantly.

"Do you think that would be alright, Idiot Prince?" Gintoki asked, the malice not hidden at all on his voice as he spoke. All in the room gathered his intentions, save for the tubby purple alien. He simply grinned in a cocky manner, shooing away his guards at Gintoki's request.

Some tried to warn the prince, while others simply bowed their heads and exited the room. As Mutsu stood from her seat across from Hata, Gintoki grabbed her sleeve, indicating her to lean closer to him to speak.

"What is it, Gintoki?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice from trembling.

"Did you bring it like I asked?" he questioned, smiling as the young woman nodded affirmation.

"It is at the edge of the table right in front of you. Are you sure about this?" she asked, a caring, friendly pleading in her voice. The silver haired young man stood, placing a hand upon her shoulder as the other grasped the wide handle of the wooden sword.

"Don't worry, by the end of this we'll both have something to be happy for. Be out in a minute." Silently, the young woman said a prayer for the alien prince as she exited the room, leaving the two men alone in the room.

"So, what does a puny earthling want to be alone with me for?" The shrill, annoyingly nasal voice didn't even register to Gintoki. He was only focused on the incomprehensibly smug alien. Loosening the black tie at his neck, Gin then ran the hand through his silver hair, producing the wooden sword from its hiding place as he set it over his shoulder.

"Ah, it seems like karma is being nice to me lately. How lucky that I get to find you and get you to myself." Gintoki spoke, smirking wide as he strode around the table, heading in the Prince's direction. It was impossible to think that someone could be so clueless, yet this purple idiot simply sat there, glaring confidently at the swordsman.

"Karma, is it? What is that, something tasty?"

"It's the tastiest thing there is, but you'll probably never know. Here's the deal, we're going to get better acquainted, after which I am sure you will be open to all of their demands."

"Oh? Quite confident aren't you? What makes you think I would listen to a primitive savage like yourself?"

"I guess you could say I'm pretty confident. I don't stand out much, but I think that being famous has its perks, don't you think?"

"Royalty are obviously to be praised and respected. But what can you possible be famous for?" Hata asked, insulted that the silver haired young man was implying that they were on the same level.

"Do royalty usually go around committing murder in cold blood? What happened, the girl turned you down or something, or you just think you can do whatever you want?" Gin's smirk widened as the alien's face flushed in anger. Apparently it was a sore spot, and he took joy in hitting it so early.

"Of course I can do what I want. You savages have no right to refuse us whatever we want!" All traces of the earlier confidence had vanished, replaced with a righteous fury. Gintoki knew that whatever he was going to do, this idiot would be helpless against it. "And how dare you try and put us on equal terms! All people on this planet should be lucky to serve me!"

The young alien stood from his seat, his red cape fluttering with the sudden gesture. Puffy, gaudy garments rustled as he stood in place, eyes burning with hatred. With a mocking gesture, Gintoki took a seat on the tabletop a short distance from the young man, letting the tip of his wooden sword rest against the carpeted floor.

"It's good to see that some of you are not afraid of bedtime stories, right?" Another sore spot. The anger left the young alien for an instant, his purple color draining at the thought.

"Of course not. Who would believe such a thing?" Hata asked, trying to hide his discomfort at the issue.

"It always made me curious when I hear people get scared of that story." Gintoki continued, spinning the point of his blade against the dark red carpet. "Tell me, how does that story go again? What did the guy look like? I always liked that part."

Hata gulped audibly as his eyes widened. Looking the young man in front of him over, the stories of the 'White Demon' flashed in his mind, and his body began to tremble at the sight. "T-the silver hair, held back by a solid white headband. C-c-crimson eyes that burned with the fires of hell, white coat stained red with blood and a smile that promised death to all who saw. I-it c-can't be. Y-you a-a-are…"

The prince had no chance to finish as Gintoki's wooden sword made heavy contact with the young alien's jaw. A single tooth flew across the room, a purple hand grasping the now sore spot on his mouth.

"As it happens, I recently met the cutest little kitten. Soft red hair, deep blue eyes and creamy white skin. Sounds familiar to you, I bet." Gintoki nearly laughed loudly at the look of fright on the young alien. He watched as Hata backed away, tripping over the chairs around him in his fear.

The purple alien tried to beg for mercy, but found himself unable to make more than disgusting, spluttering sounds with his broken jaw. Stepping from the solid black mahogany table, Gintoki closed the gap between himself and his prey. "So, like I said, you're going to give Mutsu whatever they want, right?" he asked, to which the Prince nodded fervently.

"Good that we understand each other. And you're not going to tell anyone about this, am I right?" Another fervent nod of the head, and Gintoki closed the remaining distance, the point of his wooden sword pressed dangerously against the alien's jugular. He could tell the idiot wanted to beg for his life, but he wouldn't have any of it even if the alien could speak.

"Just one thing left then." Crimson eyes flashed with malicious glee as he lifted the wooden sword above his head.

Outside the conference room, all involved winced at the audible sounds that came from the room. Shivers ran down each spine, and all were glad they were not witness to whatever was happening. After a few minutes, the double doors swung open slightly, enough for a single person to exit.

"Well, that settles that." Gintoki spoke triumphantly, sighing in satisfaction as he tossed a black wallet into the air. Snatching it in his grasp, he watched the horrified faces of those assembled. "What's wrong with you guys?" he asked to no one in particular.

"W-what happened in there?" Mutsu was the first to ask, watching the traces of blood on the wooden sword as he handed it back to her. He simply laughed loudly, knowing what she had thought.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine… eventually. He agreed to go along with whatever you decide, but he might try to go back on it. If he acts up, give me a call." he mentioned, waving as he walked past the young woman.

"Thank you." she managed, bowing respectfully as he entered the elevator. "The money will be in a large silver case in the car." she added, earning an appreciative smile from the silver haired young man. The brunette could not help but fear the grin that he gave her as he disappeared from sight.

"Oh my god…" one of the guards gasped as the double doors swung open. Mutsu made her way through the guards, and winced at the sight that greeted her. There, in the center of the large table, sat the prince.

"Damn it, Gintoki. What did you do?" she sighed, more from frustration than anger. The once regal and arrogant prince was a comically beaten mess, complete with large welts and bruises. "Well, he will be fine, but not if you don't get him some help." The guards were shaken to life, and began to frantically move around to seek help.

* * *

"Well, that was fun." Gintoki said to himself as he slipped into the backseat of the car. Grabbing the car phone, he dialed the only taxi company he could remember. "Yeah, I need a pick up." he spoke into the phone. After giving the proper address, he looked at the black wallet, the trophy of a hard day's work.

"Thanks for the ride, Hasegawa-san."

"No problem. Gin-san. Thanks for the tip." the sunglasses wearing man added, waving the wad of cash to his long time friend. A simple nod, and Gintoki made his way towards the small home he was now sharing. Silver case swaying slightly as he walked, he kept a solid grip on the black wallet.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home." he sarcastically yelled into the house, listening as the girl nearly leapt from her spot, the soft patter of her feet bringing a smile to his face.

"Gin-chan!" she yelled, tackling him hard to the floor. The smile remained in place, as he pulled himself to a sitting position. Waving the case in front of the young girl, he watched with amusement as she removed herself from atop his waist. The size of her eyes grew as she looked at him, then back at the money. "What is this?" she asked, unable to comprehend the situation.

"Well, it's only proper for all the help I give that idiot." he mumbled, smile still plastered on his face as he ran his now free right hand through her red hair.

"That's a lot of money though, isn't it?"

"Nah. Nothing too major. At least now I don't have to worry about it for a little while."

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the other object in his grasp. Taking a deep breath, he produced the wallet, handing it to the young girl. Her lips began to quiver just a bit as she opened it, looking at the identification image before turning back to Gintoki.

"I guess Karma is feeling generous lately."

"Y-you didn't…" she spoke, Gin stroking her cheek as her eyes began to water just a bit.

"No. I swore that off. But that guy will definitely not want to come back here." Gintoki thought back to the heavy beating he gave the prince, and smirked at his own handiwork. Kagura simply sat for a minute more, staring at the face of he who had taken so much from her. She would never have asked for anything from Gintoki, but he had risked much just for her.

"Gin-chan!" she shouted again, burying her head in his chest as the tears began to pour. With a warm smile on his face, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly as she wept against him.

"Thank you, Gin-chan." she managed between sobs, and Gin let his hand rest on the back of her head, the soft locks slipping between his fingers as he stroked her head.

"It's nothing. Just a bit of justice." he spoke simply, pulling himself into a standing position. Holding the girl in his arms, he looked down into the crystalline eyes and felt a surge within his heart. "So, how about you get ready, then we can see about getting you some clothes of your own?"

He was repaid with a deep kiss, as the girl pressed her full lips to his, throwing all the affection she had for him into the gesture. Gintoki then, for the first time he could recall, felt thankful for his skills.

As the girl leapt from his arms and pattered towards the bathroom, he sighed as he fell upon the sofa. It was all worth it to see her smile.

* * *

**Not totally satisfied with how I wrote this, truthfully. But it all culminates with a cute GinKagu moment at the end, just the way I like it. Next chapter will be total GinKagu fluff. The pair going clothes shopping. That can't end badly, right? :P Look forward to that GinKagu fans. Again, hopefully I can get the last couple done by the end of the weekend. Hope you liked this installment.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 07**

**Rating: T, just for safety purposes**

**Whoa, here is chapter 7. First thing is first, this one is WAY longer than I originally intended. Just seemed to keep flowing out, and couldn't think of a good place to stop. Because of that, I think it kind of rambles on towards the end, so let me know if there is anything that could fix that. Also, this one contains mentions of two sort of surprise pairings, that popped out of my head as I typed. One is just a side note, the other could really work. Try and guess which is which, and enjoy the chapter.

* * *

  
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As Kagura disappeared into the bathroom, Gintoki sat himself upon the blue sofa. With a heavy sigh, the young man undid the strangling tie, tossing it carelessly on the opposite end of the piece of furniture. Watching the lengthy piece of black silk settle on the blue sofa, the young man allowed himself to think about the events of the day so far. I had been far more emotionally trying than he had wanted.

"It's all Tatsuma's fault…" he muttered somewhat darkly to himself, bracing his head with his hands as he allowed his body to fall into a prone position on the sofa. The difficulty of simply rolling out of bed in the morning, and for work no less was not something that he enjoyed doing.

But as he thought about what he had been hired to do, the young man could not help but smile. While the government had been fearful to deal with the young alien, Gintoki was under no such restrictions. The pleading, pathetic appearance of the purple skinned alien gave Gin a heavy smirk. He had dealt a fairly heavy blow to not only the kid's pride, but he had a feeling that the pain would stick with him for a long time.

Listening vacantly to the sound of running water, Gintoki felt his eyelids become heavy. "Damn it… maybe a nap wouldn't be so bad…" he mumbled, smile plastered on his face as the lids shut out the light from his eyes. The sound of water slowly slipped into the background, before disappearing completely. The room quieted down, Gintoki's body still wrapped in the well known attire of a salary man.

As Gin fell into a deep, restful slumber, Kagura had just finished showering off, the sound of water running through pipes slowing until it reached a stop. A few stray drips fell from the shower head to the bottom of the shower, echoing off of the cool tile. Grabbing a towel from the rack, the girl patted herself dry, the pale skin sensitive from the warm shower.

Reaching towards the bathroom mirror, the young red head wiped off the fog from the smooth reflective surface, taking in the sight of her still developing figure. Turning this way and that, she smiled a gentle smile, watching the subtle movement of her breasts. She knew that there was still lots of time to develop, but that wasn't what mattered.

Clutching lightly at her heart, she closed her clear blue eyes, letting her thoughts drift to her one time love. "Shinpachi… you can finally rest in peace." In her mind, she could almost hear his voice, almost see his ever present grin. But as she stood there, the steam gradually dying around her, the image of her first love disappeared. In the place of the darker haired young man with glasses hiding his brown eyes, another figure stood, strong and proud.

Silver hair shining in the morning sun, bangs falling carelessly down towards a pair of raspberry colored eyes. A strong body, lined with lean muscles, with arms stretched towards her. The smile on the girl's face deepened as she watched the young man smile in her direction, lips moving carefully as he spoke.

Eyes shooting open, the girl blushed a shade of red to match her hair, the light, emotional clutching slowly becoming fevered rubbing. She nearly slapped herself as she placed the slender fingers upon the edge of the nearby sink. The situation made her laugh in a sort of embarrassed way, her body feeling almost numb at the thought of the silver haired young man only one room over.

Shaking any inappropriate thought from her mind, the girl grabbed her freshly cleaned white panties, sliding them up her slender legs. Looking herself over once more in the mirror, the girl realized with an embarrassed start that she had forgotten her clothes in the other room, and had no bra to cover her upper body. Casting a nervous glance at the bathroom door, she wondered what kind of solution would work.

After a moment of consideration, she got an idea. Wrapping the towel around her torso, the girl confidently strode towards the door. All she had to do was get to the bedroom and get dressed, easy. "Gin-chan, you better not peak you pervert." she cautioned, more in a teasing than warning tone. The glint of merriment in her eyes disappeared with the silence that greeted her.

"Gin-chan?" she asked cautiously, sliding the bathroom door open. The girl smiled at the sight of him, body prone on the sofa, the light sounds of his breathing filling the room. Taking a few steps into the living room, Kagura barely stifled a chuckle at his silly look.

"Geez, you lazy bum. Didn't even bother to lose the shirt." she teased, taking a seat next to him on the sofa. As her red hair hung down over her eyes, she watched the slow, steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept. The near hypnotic rhythm of his steady breathing made her smile drop, any mirth replaced with a sense of longing. To see the peace on his face, the young girl felt herself drawn almost magnetically towards him.

Before she could stop herself, red bangs rested against silver, their foreheads nearly touching as she continued to lose herself in the sight of him. His lips seemed to be almost inviting her, unspoken promises of bliss if only she would take the initiative. Just as she was about to cave in, to listen to her desires, her body felt suddenly much heavier.

With a start, she realized that his strong arms had wrapped around her slight frame, holding her body close to him. Even through the pinstripe shirt he wore, she could feel his warmth pour into her, and she eased into the embrace. Nuzzling her head into his chest, Kagura felt the heaviness in her eyelids, and felt the world go hazy, save for the feeling of comforting warmth throughout her body.

Just before sleep overtook her completely, Kagura let her arms encircle his stomach, returning the warm embrace he had given her. "Sorry, Gin-chan, but you better not catch a cold…" she whispered, realizing that her towel must be soaking through his shirt. But she was too warm, too comfortable to resolve the situation and so let herself drift off to sleep, resting against his strong body.

Only a couple of hours later, Gin felt the veil of sleep slip from his eyes. First instinct was to bring a hand to his face, to wipe the remainders of slumber from lazy eyes. But it did not take him long to notice the warm, soft body resting atop his own. His arms wrapped tightly around the waist of the young girl, pressing her tighter into his embrace.

"I seem to be sleeping on the sofa a lot these last couple days." he mumbled to himself, a smile on his face as he casually rubbed the back of the young girl. The thick cotton of the towel felt odd to his touch, and he realized that his shirt was damp from the contact with the wet piece of cloth.

"So careless, too. What if I had gotten a cold?" he grumbled in mock annoyance. Any harsh feelings he might normally have felt dissipated at the sweet look on the sleeping girl's face. Loose strands of red hair fanned out against his white shirt, her chest pressing down against him with each intake of breath. To his eyes, she looked almost like an angel, something unbelievable that he would never think himself worthy of.

Loosening a hand from her lower back, Gin brought it up towards her face, running his thumb against her cheek, lightly chuckling at the incoherently pleased mumbled from the sleeping girl. Sighing deeply, the silver haired young man simply lay there, watching the sunlight pouring in from the nearby window.

While he did not like being pinned down in such a manner, Gin had to admit that he truly enjoyed being so close to the younger girl. The idea of spending many a day simply lying together in bed crept through his mind, bringing a wide, amused grin to his face. It was then that an idea occurred to him, that Kagura had no extra clothing.

He knew that she was still developing, yet still had a very decent figure. This thought was brought home by the feeling of her breasts pressing against his torso. Taking the hand from her cheek, he ran it through her red hair, watching it slip easily through his fingers. With each stroke, he felt the girl nuzzle herself against his hand, an enchanting smile gracing her lips as she cooed in delight.

His mind was dealing with two contrasting thoughts at that moment. Part of him wanted to give in to his more base desires, rouse the girl from her slumber and take her for himself. But the more respectable, honorable part of himself knew it would be prudent to wake her and take her on a shopping trip for some clothing to wear.

The argument did not take long, as his mind settled on something of a compromise. Running his hands slowly down her back, he listened to the soft moans that escaped her lips, her breathing quickening just a fraction. The soft towel straightened out, smoothed by his hands running along the girl's body. Gradually the smooth back began to curve, rising up as it gave way to her perfectly curved bottom.

With a hint of an evil smirk, Gin gave the twin mounds a good squeeze, drawing a single moan from the girl. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, face flushed from the unexpected contact.

"Good afternoon, Kagura." Gin teased, watching the girl smile at him, eyes shining with joy and happiness.

"Good afternoon, Gin-chan. You need to be more careful, falling asleep on the sofa isn't good for you after all. You'll end up hurting your back or something." she muttered, resting her chin on her hands, body still pressed loosely against his own.

"Oh? So you're looking out for my health?"

"Uh-huh." she spoke softly, nodding her head gently from the uncomfortable position.

"So then why did you curl yourself up on top of me with a wet towel wrapped around you, huh?" he asked, lips holding the amused smirk as her smile drooped for a second.

"I don't know." she answered truthfully, not sure why she had done it either. "But you're the one who grabbed me first, so you're the one at fault." she added, catching a slight quirk of his brows into a confused gesture.

"Hmm. It must have been that dream I had." he spoke, intentionally vague about the details. At this, the girl on top of him perked up a bit, rising a bit to gaze into his crimson eyes, brows apart in surprise.

"What kind of dream would that be, Gin-chan?" she asked innocently, truly curious what kind of dream would cause him to suddenly reach out and grab her. She was further surprised as he leaned up, capturing her lips with his own.

"Something like that, I guess." he added as he pulled away, an oddly dreamlike look on the girl's face.

"You player." she poke, trying to hide the light pink tone to her cheeks as she spoke, resting her head against his chest once again.

"So, are we going to go shopping, or just lay here all day?" With that, the girl had a start of recollection, and shot up and towards the bedroom. "… I guess that's a yes." he added to himself, as he pulled himself off of the sofa. Hoping that there was a spare set of clothing lying in the bathroom, he trudged across the hardwood floor. As he walked, he undid the buttons of the formal shirt, sighing in relief as the moist fabric was removed from his skin.

Tossing the garment into the clothes bin, he looked around for a spare kimono to wear. Sighing in defeat as none was found, he slipped the dress pants from his legs, tossing them onto the pile with the shirt.

"Ah, I guess I will just have to wait until Kagura's ready." he muttered to himself. Walking towards the mirror on the wall, he pulled it open, producing a toothbrush and toothpaste. Inspecting his teeth in the mirror as he applied the paste, Gin tried to look for any spots that needed more attention than others.

"Well, that's good." he mumbled as he pushed the piece of plastic into his mouth. The sounds of scrubbing in his mouth drowned out most all the rest of the sounds, and he could almost feel the disgusting plaque and other nasty material disappearing into the minty foam.

After 2 minutes of appropriate scrubbing, he ran the water from the faucet, spitting out the white foam into the sink. Filling a small cup, Gin sipped carefully, swishing all the remainder from his mouth. Spitting the rest into the sink, he looked at his teeth once more in the mirror. Finding them looking acceptable, he shut off the water and grabbed the small hand towel to wipe his face.

"Ah, that's better." he mused as he stepped into the oddly cool living room. The light brown of the walls and dark color of the floor matched reasonably well, and he always felt comfortable in his small home. But what stood out was the bundle of red sitting on the blue sofa.

"Geez, aren't you ready yet? You're like a woman, it takes you forever to get ready to go anywhere, eh?" Kagura teased, watching as he silently made his way to the bedroom. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched the girl sitting comfortable on the sofa, eyes bright and clear in the afternoon sun.

"Yeah, yeah. But you know, you should be more careful in your sleep. Not good to be making those kinds of inappropriate sounds, Kagura." he teased back as he slipped into the bedroom, not bothering to close the door behind him.

"W-what do you mean?" she stuttered a bit, glad he wasn't in the room to see her pink cheeks.

"Eh, it's just that you make these cute little sounds when you sleep. Especially with just a little contact." Gin could tell he had her on a line, judging by her stammering. His smirk widened as he popped his head through the neck of his black shirt, adjusting it against his strong frame.

"W-w-what k-kind of l-l-lies are you saying?" she asked, curious to what he was going on about, but unsure if she would like the answer. The idea embarrassed her as the dream she had ran through her mind. She had never been told she was a sleep talker before, but maybe…

"You can't say you have no idea, right? How can anyone say stuff like that in their sleep and just forget about it. I never heard such suggestive language before, and from someone so young. I guess kids these days get lots more experiences earlier in life." Gin barely suppressed the laugh that threatened to escape his throat. For an instant, he thought that the poor girl would just suffocate from her heavy breathing.

"W-well, it's j-just because of the positioning is all." she tried to bluff, earning a surprised gasp from the young man. Slipping his white kimono over his shoulder, he stared wide-eyed at the young girl.

"What?" he asked simply, surprised that she was confessing something to him.

"W-w-well, it was just because your body was so warm and comfortable, I can't be responsible for what happens when I am asleep…" Kagura's voice dropped a few levels in volume as she spoke, refusing to look him in the face as he took a seat next to the girl.

"So, you're saying you had a pretty good dream, eh?" he asked once more, watching the girl's head nod once in affirmation. "Wow, I didn't realize I was that good." he mused, stroking his chin in a mock impressed look.

"Huh?" she choked the word out as a question, the pink in her cheeks draining for a moment as she forced her piercing blue eyes to look straight at him.

"I figured you were just making those kind of sounds because of my hands on your back, but to know you've been having dreams about me… it's quite flattering." Before he could truly delight in his "victory" over the younger girl, he felt an intense pressure on his left cheek. Sputtering, he felt his body sprawling out across the sofa.

"You bastard, playing with a young maiden's heart. How cruel. I thought you were better than that!" she shouted, shaking him by the grip she held on his kimono. As he was shaken harshly by the girl on top of him, Gintoki felt like his brains would be scrambled, his cheek swelling from the impact. She was surprisingly strong, he thought to himself.

Putting his arms out in front of him, he caught the wild swings of the young red head, sighing in relief as she thrashed around in his grasp. Leaning up quickly, he captured the soft, full lips with his own. As they remained in that position, he felt the fight dissipate, her body falling into his embrace. _'Well, that worked pretty well.'_ he thought to himself, smirking against her lips.

"W-well, just don't do that again, bastard." she said, cheeks puffing into a light pout as she turned away from him. Sitting upright, Gintoki muttered an acknowledgement, watching the girl stand from her seat to his side.

"Okay, so let's get going already. Daylight's running out fast, after all." As he slipped his boots over his feet, he stepped out of the small home, the sole of the footwear echoing loudly on the hard stone underfoot.

"Alright, let's go Gin-chan!" Kagura yelled, jumping easily onto Gintoki's strong back. Giggling as she clasped her arms around his neck, legs around his waist, she felt his body tense for a moment, and she knew he was going to yell at her to get off.

"Geez, even in public, huh? What am I going to do with you?" he muttered amusedly, letting his hands fall into his pockets. Kagura blinked a few times, surprised at his acceptance. But, she had to smile, as it was an indication of how much he liked being near her.

"So, where to first Gin-chan?" the girl asked sweetly, inadvertently pressing her breasts against his back as she spoke. He seemed to think for a moment as he walked, trying to ignore the soft flesh pressing against him.

"Hmm. I am feeling a little hungry, so let's get something to eat first." he spoke, pointing towards a nearby ramen shop. Kagura's stomach seemed to agree with the idea, growling in appreciation for the gesture. Gin smirked, chuckling to himself as he made his way to the small shop.

As he slipped the door open, the bell rang gently through the small shop, drawing curious looks from the few patrons at their tables. With a clearing of his throat, Gintoki indicated for Kagura to slip from his back. Hesitating for a moment, the girl finally acquiesced, landing on the floor with a soft patter of feet.

"Oh, if it isn't Gintoki. Where the hell have you been, you bastard?" A young blonde woman spoke from behind the counter, waving him and his partner over to the stools. Somewhere in her heart, Kagura felt a sense of anger and betrayal, hearing Gin being referred to in such a casual manner.

"It sure has. Sorry if I don't come in as often as Zura, but I don't have the luxury of that." Gintoki joked back with the young woman as he took a seat upon one of the round stools.

"Hah! If there's anyone with the luxury, it's you, you lazy bum. No use lying to me."

"Well, you got me there. Money's been a bit tight recently, so it's hard to go out to eat all the time."

"But you have some cash today, is that it?" the young woman asked, a brow raised in curiosity as she stared at the silver haired young man.

"Of course, Ikumatsu-san." Gin answered easily, producing the hefty brown leather wallet from his back pocket.

"Heh, so who did you lift that off?" A short pause, before the pair broke into an amused laugh, leaving Kagura feeling a bit confused.

"Ah, nobody who will miss it. Felt like donating it to charity, so I took advantage of the opportunity." Gin smiled easily, and Kagura could feel a twinge of jealousy passing through her. Who was this lady, and what was her relationship with her Gin-chan?

"Oh, so who's your friend here Gin? A little young for you, isn't she?" Gintoki looked over at Kagura, easing the unease in her with his warm eyes and smile.

"Just a little kitten I picked up." Again with that? Why did he keep calling her that? Sure, she was cute, but still…

"She's a cute thing, for sure. Hope you can handle it, man. So what's your name?" Ikumatsu asked the young red head, catching her off guard a bit. Looking the blonde over for a moment, she reached out towards Gintoki, tightly grabbing his arm.

"I'm Kagura. Nice to meet you." The underlying venom of her words seeped through quite easily, striking the blonde woman as slightly odd. Gintoki also caught on, giving the girl a swift blow to the head.

"Geez, no need to be so mean."

"Hahah. It's alright. Seems like she's definitely taken a liking to you, Gin. Don't worry kid, I don't have any interest in this useless guy." Ikumatsu spoke, ruffling the girl's hair as she hiked a thumb towards the young man. "He's nothing but trouble, so hopefully you can make something out of him."

"You got that right. I think he would be a goner without someone to take care of him. What a slob." Kagura's grip lessened as she began to smile, joking with the blonde chef at Gin's expense.

"Damn, why does this happen everywhere I go…" he muttered darkly, wondering what he had done to deserve such treatment.

"It's your own fault, Gintoki. You caused a lot of problems, and you being such a player doesn't help your cause either." the blonde added, drawing a click of the tongue from the silver haired young man.

"Player?" Kagura's eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at Gintoki, who seemed to ignore the statement.

"Don't let his lazy attitude fool you. Back when he was younger, all the girls were falling all over him. That all changed once he started seeing Otae, but I think there are still a lot of gals who would love to be in your position. Be careful, Kagura." Ikumatsu's words echoed in Kagura's head, and she tried to think of what to say.

"There you go with that again. I don't think it was ever anything like that. It was just that crazy girl with the glasses, when she was stalking me all over the place. Totally creepy."

"Ah, what about Tsukuyo-san, then? She actually had to leave Tokyo because it was pretty serious you know? You can't just ignore your part in that."

With that, Gintoki's face fell into a more serious expression, a hint of loss at the mention of the woman's name. "That's all in the past, you know?" Turning to the red head to his right, he ruffled her hair in a playful manner, his sad expression lifting into a smile.

"That's the spirit. So, what can I get you two?"

"The usual for me. Kagura?"

"Umm… I'll just have what he's having." she answered, relaxing a bit in his presence. Ikumatsu smiled brightly as she turned to make the preparations, giving the red head a secretive wink.

While they waited for their food, Kagura could not help but stare at Gintoki, pondering on what she had heard. Was Gintoki really a player, someone who was so good with the ladies?

"Like I said, it's not true." Gin answered, resting his elbows against the cool surface of the counter. "If there were others who had a thing for me, they were good at hiding it, so it's nothing to worry about, in case you were wondering. Ikumatsu just likes to poke fun at me for the way I treat her boy toy."

"Boy toy?"

"It's not 'boy toy', it's Katsura." A deep voice echoed from Gintoki's other side. Craning forward a bit, Kagura noticed a young man about Gintoki's size and age, with long black hair down to almost mid back.

"What are you doing, Zura?"

"Helping Ikumatsu-san out." The black haired man answered, his kimono wrapped in a much more normal manner as he sat upon a stool next to Gintoki. As she looked at the man, Kagura could see a very faint blush on his cheeks, and she assumed that he and the ramen cook were an item.

"Helping out my ass. You're the one causing all the trouble in here, you terrorist." Gintoki spoke, eyes wide as he teased his long time friend.

"Not a terrorist. We just have to be on guard for when the Amanto decide to attack. It will happen eventually, you know that." Gin's face soured at the thought, and Kagura felt a short chill in her chest. Somehow, the idea of a big battle happening scared her, thinking that Gintoki would be taken from her just like that. Reaching out lightly, she grasped the sleeve of his kimono, fearing that if she let go he would simply vanish.

"You're so pessimistic, just like Takasugi. A person can never know the future. It has lots of possibilities."

"And what happens when the war does come and you just get pulled into it? Can you go with no regrets, or do you have some plan in mind?"

"Heh. Nothing as grand as that." Removing his sleeve from the girl's grasp, he clasped his hand around hers. Comforting her with a smile, he responded to his friend's argument. "I've always just protected what's important to me, nothing more, nothing less. I'll just continue with living my life that way, until the day I die."

"Heh. Same as ever, Gintoki." Katsura smirked as he moved to stand from the seat he had occupied. With a few steady footsteps, the black haired young man made his way behind the counter, slowly approaching the young blonde woman.

"But Gintoki, you should not assume the world will always go the way you want it to." As he grabbed the necessary items to prepare the ramen, Kagura could see a look of near resignation on Gintoki's face, as though he had known it all along. Clasping back at his hand, she tried to offer some comfort through her own uncertainty over the issue.

The rest of their time in the small ramen shop was relatively silent, and Kagura assumed it was because of the light lecturing from his old friend. As more patrons came in, the place became quite busy, the small building filled with all manner of conversation. Gintoki seemed quite irritated by the development, and quickly finished off his serving of the noodles.

"Thanks for the grub, Ikumatsu. But you should probably ditch that guy, since he's always up to no good." Gintoki teased as he placed a few bills from the wallet upon the hard flat countertop at which he had been sitting.

"Hey, no problem. I keep him in line by working him to the bone. And feel free to come by any time as well, Kagura. Any friend of Gin's is a friend of mine." Kagura nodded happily as she waved to the young ramen chef. The last sounds they heard out of the shop was a loud crash, and some rather loud yelling.

"I wonder how long it's going to take that guy to get used to working there." Gintoki chuckled, digging his hands in his pockets. With a mischievous smirk, the young girl closed the short distance between the two, placing her arms around his, hugging it to her slender frame.

"So, where to next Gin-chan?" she asked, in the sweetest voice she could manage. Gintoki seemed to either ignore her hold on his arm, or did not mind. As he thought, he brought his free arm up, stroking his chin in thought.

"Well, it's starting to get late, so I guess one more stop for today. You really do need some underwear, Kagura." As he spoke, the young red head nearly burst out laughing, amused at the nervous sound of his voice.

"Alright. Just try not to get a bloody nose in the shop." she teased, earning a light nudge from his fist against the crown of her head. As they walked, he began to grumble, paying no notice to the occasional glance sent his way. Kagura was in a similar situation, though due more to her amusement at Gintoki's embarrassment. It seemed he was always making her smile, even when he wasn't trying to.

As they approached the next small shop, Gintoki stopped in his tracks, a sense of dread in his bones as he caught sight of the young girl working there. Turning his head towards the young girl on his arm, he began to speak, in a more subdued tone. "M-maybe we should check out somewhere else on second thought." He tried to cover up his nerves and hopefully dissuade the girl from entering the small shop.

"Well, let's see why you're so nervous about it." she teased, nearly dragging him into the small shop, lacey garments displayed prominently in the windows. Kagura assumed he was simply nervous about entering a women's underwear store, but realized the real reason when she caught sight of the young lady at the counter.

"W-w-welcome, m-ma'am. H-how can I-I help y-y-you today?" the young woman at the counter seemed awfully nervous, and Kagura nearly broke out into another fit of laughter, but tried hard to keep it in. Managing a courteous bow, Kagura realized that Gintoki had taken up a position just outside the shop, resting against the outer part of the doorframe.

"Aww, come on Gin-chan, it's no point being shy, you know? You gotta suck it up and take it like a man."

"Gin-chan?" the girl at the counter spoke, watching as Gintoki entered the shop with a gentle, friendly wave.

"H-how have you been, Kyuubei?" Kagura's turn to be surprised again. Narrowing her eyes dangerously at Gintoki, she watched as the young girl at the counter nearly leapt over the glass casing, capturing Gintoki in a tight hug.

"Who is this, Gin-chan?" Kagura's voice echoed a familiar tone from his days dealing with Otae, but Gin only responded with a sigh and a gesture of his hand for stop.

"This is Yagyuu Kyuubei, one of Tae's old friends. Somehow, she developed a distaste for men as a result of various problems. Long story short, we got introduced through the gorilla woman, and she felt comfortable with me." As Gin explained the situation, Kagura took a better look at the young woman.

The dark shade of blue that composed her hair seemed to shimmer in the gentle lighting of the small shop, held back in a functional yet attractive ponytail. Any hint of a figure was well hidden with heavy pants and shirt, similar to a style a man might wear. But the feature that stood out most was that the young woman only had one eye, a light brown color that seemed to have a calming influence as she gazed into it.

The young lady extricated herself from Gintoki, bowing in some manner of embarrassment. "I-I am sorry, miss. I am still new here, and I behaved so shamefully. I apologize." Kagura was the one feeling bad, having such scathing accusations rolling around in her head.

"No, it's nothing like that. It is good to know any of Gin-chan's friends. They all seem to have interesting stories to tell." This was a not so subtle jab at the young silver haired gentleman, one that he did not show any reaction to.

"So, may I ask who you might be?" the dark haired young woman asked. Kagura pretended to think the prospect over, noticing an almost imperceptible nervousness in the young girl. With a smile, the red head offered her hand in greeting as she spoke.

"Kagura. Nice to meet you, Kyuu-chan." Kyuubei smiled a bit at the gesture, taking the offered hand in appreciation.

"So, Kagura, is there anything in particular I can help you with." Still holding a faint blush on her cheeks, the young woman led Kagura deeper into the store, Gintoki following grudgingly behind.

"I don't know. Gin-chan, any ideas?" she loved watching him squirm, but all he offered was a brief 'I don't care' accompanied by a dismissive wave of the hand as he found a place to sit on a nearby bench. Kagura's cheeks puffed out a bit in a pout, earning an amused giggle from the girl from the shop.

"Don't worry. Gin-san acts tough, but he's really just innocent on the inside." The look on Kyuubei's face could have easily been mistaken as one of admiration, of longing. So this is what Gin had been talking about. Casting a glance over at the lazy guy in question, she got a devilish idea. Leaning closer to the shop lady, she whispered her idea, earning a heavy blush from the dark haired young lady.

"I-I-I think we h-have something l-like that." she stuttered a bit, earning a lighthearted chuckle from the playful red head. The pair made their way over to an assortment of garments, pushing some aside as they looked for the right one.

"Ah, that's it alright. Got a changing room?" Kagura asked, walking in the indicated direction as Kyuubei pointed to the far end of the shop. "Thanks."

As he watched Kagura disappear into the changing room, Gintoki felt as Kyuubei took up a seat only a short distance from him. He made no motion to face the young girl, knowing that even unintentionally, he had hurt her.

"It's good to see you, Gin-can. It's been too long." Gintoki simply nodded, chancing a glance at the young lady. She looked just as nice and comfortable as he always remembered, and it brought a smile to his face. "What's so amusing?" she asked, watching his face suddenly pull into a smile.

"Oh, nothing. Just noticed that you seem quite happy. So, why are you working here of all places? A rich kid like yourself could have your pick of jobs, right?" he asked, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched the young woman. In the background, he could hear Kagura cursing as she fumbled with the undergarments, earning an amused chuckle from him.

"Otae said I should get more practice dealing with people, so she got me a job here."

"Eh? That was nice of her. I am surprised your dad would accept such an arrangement. Or your 'retainer' for that matter."

"You mean that stalker? He hasn't been around since he met Ayame." An audible choke from Gintoki as he stared wide-eyed at the young lady to his side.

"Sarutobi Ayame? That crazy stalker ninja-freak?" he asked incredulously, Kyuubei nodding in acknowledgement, a single brow quirked upwards in confusion. Stroking his chin in thought, Gintoki muttered some things to himself about the situation. "So that's why she stopped bugging me… those two were indeed made for one another." he concluded, explaining the situation to Kyuubei, who visibly paled at the thought.

"I just hope they don't mess their kids up." Both shuddered at the thought of that odd pair having kids, mixed with concern for whoever that kid would develop feelings for. The two shared a laugh as they caught up, Gintoki relieved that the young girl seemed happy in life. As they talked, he came upon a bit of information that took him by surprise.

"You and that sword freak? Wow… I guess it takes all types. That guy is too rough, and he is always smoking. How do you guys get together with that? Do you have to like surgically replace the cigarette?" Gintoki offered, taking shots at his long time rival. It had never occurred to him that Hijikata Toshiro and Yagyuu Kyuubei would ever make a couple. What with Hijikata's seemingly lack of interest in the opposite sex, and Kyuubei's own trouble with guys.

"W-well, h-he's a nice guy o-once you get to know him. He's kind of like you, actually." An audible gag from the silver haired young man. He never liked being compared to the black haired man, who had served as his nemesis all through high school. The thought of all the times that he had been challenged to fights by the guy still bothered him, even well into their twenties.

"I never would have thought he would get over a girl being better than him. But, like I said, it takes all kinds. Your opinion is the only one that really matters. Congratulations." Gintoki offered, clasping a hand to the girl's shoulder, earning an embarrassed blush and nod.

"Alright, I'm done." Kagura's voice rang throughout the shop, Gintoki sweat dropping at the amount of time it had taken. With a nod of the head, he stood from his seat on the bench, making his way over towards the changing room.

"Ah, this better have been worth the-" Gin did not get to finish his statement as the curtain opened, revealing the young girl who had entered the shop with him. His face lit into a light blush as she walked towards him, swaying her hips suggestively with each step.

"So, what do you think, Gin-chan?" If he didn't know better, he would swear he was being made fun of. The sensitive parts of her body were clothed in thin, nearly transparent red lace, a similar tone to her hair. His eyes found themselves roving over her slender frame, taking notice of the supple curves around her chest and backside.

The red hair that he had become so accustomed to seeing in its usual black and gold bun clip was let down, hanging lazily down to her shoulders. Flutters of red locks framed her face as she strode towards him, one finger resting teasingly against her full pink lips, another trailing down her flat stomach.

Gintoki gulped the lump in his throat down, unsure what he was supposed to do. He was vaguely aware of the questioning glance from the shopkeep, and an amused giggle from the young lady. But that didn't matter to him just then. His eyes were fixed upon Kagura's oddly full form. After a moment, he managed to clear his throat, breaking the spell she had caught him in.

"W-well, that is a-alright, I g-guess. But make sure you get something more normal." he spoke, hurried in his words as he tossed the girl the hefty brown wallet. "I'll just, uh, wait outside." the last thing he heard as he exited the shop was a pair of amused giggles, and he knew that Kagura had done the whole thing on purpose. Leaning against the outside of the shop, Gin's lips curled into a highly amused smirk, remembering the way Kagura had walked towards him.

"Alright, you ready to go Gin-chan?" the girl spoke, taking her position on his back as he turned towards his home. "Here, you need to carry this too." she teased, letting her breath brush against his sensitive ear. Gintoki barely suppressed a shudder at the feel, grasping the handle of the bag.

Chancing a look inside, he gazed at the variety of choices the young girl had made. Each item his eyes passed over brought a bit of darker blush to his cheeks. Lacey negligee's, panties that ranged from lacey and intricately patterned black to simple white, and bras to match each one.

"Good thing I decided to go into work today. No way could I have afforded this all on my own." he joked, feeling the girl squeeze tightly around his neck.

"Thanks, Gin-chan." she whispered, no teasing or joking. He smiled at the pure sincerity in her voice, his crimson eyes hooding half closed as he listened to her light breathing, each intake pushing her breasts against his back.

"Ah, don't mention it." the hold on his neck tightened, and he tried to turn his gaze backwards towards the young girl. "Kagura?" he asked, voice filled with the worry he could muster between his enjoyment of the situation.

"Gin-chan, you won't ever leave me, right?"

"…"

"Right!?" she asked, and Gintoki could tell that she did not mean strictly one thing in her question. With a smirk, he reached up, resting his free left hand on the girl's forearm as he responded.

"Not a chance, Kagura. I said it before didn't I? I'm going to protect what matters to me, until the day I die. But nothing in this world can kill me, so you're going to have to be stuck with a guy like me. Think you can handle that?" he asked, a teasing tone to his voice.

"Mmm!" the girl nodded, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to his cheek. As she pulled back, she whispered something into his ear that made him nearly stumble on his own feet. Stopping briefly, he turned to get a look at her mischievous eyes, and knew it was true.

"Geez, what a trouble maker you are." he grumbled, his face showing anything but annoyance. "It's definitely not very ladylike to leave an underwear shop with no underwear on, Kagura." he mock scolded the young girl, listening as she blew a raspberry through her lips at him.

He found himself oddly eager to get home, and indulge in the special treats that the girl had chosen for him.

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**Two surprise pairings here, and like I said, one is just a sort of mention the other sort of appealed to me once I thought of it. The first mentioned was Sa-chan/Ayumu. Two creepy stalkers getting together would be weird. I wonder how it would work out? The other, Hijikata/Kyuubei just sort of occured to me, but it seems really cute when I think of it. Lots of problems, but I think it could work. I might try a oneshot featuring the pairing once I finish this story, just to try it out. Opinions on the matter? **

**Anyway, I also want to say that there might be an extra chapter to this one, since this chapter was so long and went against how I originally intended to write it. Next chapter will have Gin and Kagura's first night "together", so definitely steamy content there. Then the second of two dramatic twists, just because it's been hinted at (see: blatantly referred to) within the story :P Until next time, GinKagu fans.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Rating: M (lemon-y goodness)**

**Warning: this chapter is essentially a lemon, no real bearing on the overall story, so if that's not your cup of tea, you can skip this chapter and wait for number 9. That said, I have gotten an odd request or two, so here is my first GinKagu lemon. All appropriate disclaimers apply, so if you are ready, here it is.

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"Kagura, could you knock that off," Gintoki's voice showed his irritation with the situation, the girl's laughter ringing in his ear from her perch on his back. With each step towards their now shared home, the silver haired young man felt a sense of annoyance buildings inside of him. Each time he took a step forward, the girl on his back took advantage of the positioning to press her softness against his back, mocking him gently with soft moans against his ear.

"Sorry, Gin-chan. It's just so hard to deal with," Gin tried gritting his teeth, tried to drown out the soft noises escaping her lips. But the more he tried to drown them out, the more he found himself focusing on them, on the softness of her breath against his ear. Every so often, she would lean forward just a bit more, pressing the full lips against his ear, driving him further into agitated bliss.

"It's not very ladylike to tease your elders, you know," he responded, trying in vain to stop the girl's teasing. Each vain attempt to control himself drew another amused giggle from the girl on his back. Grinding his teeth together, Gin felt the blush burning at his cheeks, the feelings against his skin paired with the knowledge that Kagura was, in fact, not wearing any panties while riding on his back.

"It's not very gentlemanly to get turned on from that either, Gin-chan," A low growl was his only response, his instincts wanting desperately to take over for his conscious mind. Gradually, his speed picked up, anxious to get home to end the torture at the hands of this young red head, and maybe give some payback of his own. The idea of seeing the similarly tortured reactions of the young girl piggybacking on him brought a near sadistic smile to his face as he picked up the pace.

Breaking out almost into a light jog, he noticed the sounds emanating from the girl's lips increasing in volume and urgency, and another thought occurred to him. She was probably feeling just a little bit sensitive with no undergarments. Fighting the urge to chuckle at the situation, he decided to be a bit nice and slow down, letting the girl settle on his back.

"Geez, such an unladylike girl, moaning like that. How interesting," Gintoki spoke softly, not hiding the amusement at the situation. Kagura stopped her tormenting, clutching more tightly around the young man's neck. She was delighted with his reactions, yet was curious about a particular reaction. From her perch behind him, it was nearly impossible to tell, especially with his loose fitting garment fluttering in the wind as he strode down the hard, dry road.

"Aww, don't be so mad, Gin-chan," she whispered in his ear, smiling at the small shiver that coursed up his body. "Besides, you seem to like it as well, and we will do many more fun things when we get back, right?" she asked, smiling a hidden devilish smile at his blush, noticing the likely subconscious increase in his pace. Slow steady footsteps gave way to quicker strides, his body tense as he seemingly tried to keep the rhythm steady.

After an agonizing eternity, Gintoki breathed a sigh of relief as the front door to his small home came into view, the oddly tall grass surrounding it blowing in the breeze. The sigh of relief deepened as the girl leapt off of his back, almost running into the small structure. Gin was left blinking a few times as the red blur disappeared into the house.

"Geez, ungrateful little brat," he muttered to himself, fingers running through his messy sliver locks as he entered after the girl. Leaning against the inside of the doorframe, Gin slipped his boots from his feet, the heavy black objects landing unceremoniously on the hard surface on the inside of the entrance. Sliding the door closed, the young man felt an odd sense of exhaustion pass over him as he slipped the white kimono from his shoulders, resting it on the nearby chair arm.

"Ah, so tired. Putting up with that brat is too tiring for my body," he mumbled, exaggeratingly rubbing his lower back as he made his way to the kitchen. Popping open the fridge, he felt his spirits brighten at the sight of the pink and white carton on the inside of the door. "Thank god it's still here," he smirked, grasping the carton of strawberry milk in hand.

Closing the door, small sounds of clanging glass echoing in his ears as the contents settled, Gintoki popped open the spout of the milk carton. As he felt the sweet fluid drain down his throat, any traces of tiredness seemed to simply vanish, replaced with a familiar feeling of happiness and energy. He always loved strawberry milk, its sweetness and smoothness a welcome comfort in near any situation.

Milk carton in hand, the young man made his way out towards the living room, intent on relaxing as much as possible before whatever the girl who had so quickly grafted herself onto his life had planned. All manner of thought passed through his head as he paced towards the front room, his face lighting up with the images that he began to see in his mind.

Plopping down on the sofa, the young man took another satisfying sip of the pink fluid, sighing in contentment as it slid down his throat. Casually letting his head fall over the top edge of the sofa, he felt himself becoming… nervous. Crimson eyes falling open, he looked at the room in the nearly upside down manner, trying to work through the thoughts bunching in his mind.

'_Why am I so nervous? I mean, it's not like I haven't done anything like this before…'_ he thought to himself, almost taking for granted what was about to occur. The insistent gasps of the young girl in his ear on their way home seemed to display her own desires, happening to match his own. He had needed her insistence to bring the feelings fully to the surface. Images of the young girl draped in the fancy garments she had procured from the lingerie shop thrilled him as they danced in his mind, the excitement paired with a sense of fear. Fear of… what? _'What reason do I have to be nervous? Things will always work out for the best, right?'_ he tried convincing himself, finding his mind to be his worst enemy at the moment.

"Gin-chan," his attention was brought back to reality, the now familiar soft voice echoing from his room. Looking towards the door, he found no sign of the young girl, wondering if maybe his mind had been playing tricks on him. A firm shake of the head, and he tried to clear the delusion from his mind, lips finding another sip of strawberry milk. The pleasant feelings he got from the fluid faded as he realized it was the last drops. Sighing in frustration, he grudgingly stood from his spot on the sofa, making his way toward the kitchen once more.

"Better stop at the store tomorrow and get some more. Not enough sugar in the house," he muttered, his footsteps heavy with the prospect of trudging through town once more the following day. Taking a look around the living room, Gintoki tried to find any sort of mess he might have to clean up. Aside from the kimono resting lazily on the chair's arm, everything looked to be in decent enough shape.

"Gin-chan, aren't you coming?" the same light voice, and his heart began to pound heavily in his chest. Gulping down a surprisingly large lump in his throat, the silver haired young man stared at the door to his bedroom, where the voice had echoed from. The images he had been thinking of flashed through his mind once again, wondering what was to greet him once he entered his room.

Making no reply, his body began to move almost instinctively towards the bedroom, each step sending an uncomfortably loud thud through the empty living room. The dark browns of the floor seemed to melt into an almost black, no light within the home aside from the bits leaking through the cracks around the bedroom door. All in his vision seemed to fade away, crimson spheres focusing on the dim traces of light surrounding the door.

As he approached the barrier to the room, he stopped with his hand resting against the doorknob. Sudden panic surged through him, overpowering any sense of carnal desire he may have been feeling. Regardless of their wishes, regardless of how close they had gotten in such a short time, could this be alright? The last barrier in any relationship was about to be passed, he knew, and nothing would ever be the same between them if they went ahead.

Was that what he wanted? All his past relations with women flowed through his conscious mind, mixed with images of the young girl's array of emotions he had seen in only a few short days. The bright smile, the dim frown, and all in between. If he entered that room, their relationship would be the closest that two people could be, but would they act the same with each other? A thought of a Kagura who was solely sweet and docile caused his heart to drop in his chest, and it hurt.

"Gin-chan, what are you doing keeping a lady waiting like this, huh?" her voice increased to a near yell, and a smile crept on his lips. How silly it was that he had worried over it at all.

All doubts gone, he turned the knob to the door, slowly sliding it open. As the light filtered from the room into the corridor outside, Gintoki felt his eyes nearly jam closed from the burst of brightness. It had seemed he had been in the dark for longer than he realized. But as his sight focused in the light, he realized it was not truly very dark.

A more dim, intimate lighting filled the room, and as his raspberry toned eyes found their way to the bed, he nearly fainted at the sight that greeted him. In the center of the bed sat Kagura, her pale skin draped in a sheer black nightie, the silky fabric falling down just past her waist onto the flat surface of the bed.

Beneath the see through fabric of the negligee, he could make out matching black panties and a bra, each patterned with fancy stitching and flowery looking designs. The red hair that she usually wore up in her buns was let down, the silky locks falling just above her shoulders. Her calves pulled underneath her thighs in a near kneeling position, legs parted only a bit, seemingly inviting him towards her.

Listening to the soft clicking of the door as it closed, Gintoki found his attention focused solely on the girl on his bed. Not knowing fully what to be doing, he ran a hand through his thick hair, feet walking slowly towards the girl as his other hand began to undo his suddenly uncomfortable black clothing.

"Wow…" was all he could mutter, his mind an incomprehensible mess. The girl smiled playfully at him, raising a hand to just below chin level, extending the slender appendage towards him. No words escaped the shiny, full lips, only a seductive crook of the finger in motion for him to come towards her.

Gin nodded weakly in compliance, his eyes captured completely within her deep blue pools. The cool, deep blue seemed to smolder, a fire of lust burning behind the beautiful exterior. As he strode slowly towards the young girl, she playfully ran her hands across her slender frame, the silky fabric bunching slightly under her explorations. The view of her body afforded him a good look at her pale skin, catching the light from the single light in the room, almost giving her an otherworldly glow.

As the shirt finally got undone, he tossed it to the floor, watching as she began to playfully bite her lower lip, the hand exploring her body growing more bold. Gin smirked to himself at the sight of her, watching the girl's reaction to simply seeing his bare torso in the pale lamplight. Reaching the bed, the young man placed both knees upon the soft surface, creeping up towards the girl.

A hint of apprehension crossed her face, noticing the wolf like gaze she was getting from her friend. The short display she had given him had ignited his own fires of passion, burning behind the usually lazy crimson eyes. Kagura felt her face flushing under his intense gaze, her body trying in vain to move away from him. The somewhat cumbersome position of her legs made such a move difficult, and before she could truly react, she found herself pinned beneath his strong body, his breath brushing against her soft lips.

"G-Gin-chan…" she murmured, voice a whisper as she looked up into his face. Near her waist, she could feel his right knee lodged between her legs, pressing against her scantily covered womanhood. The wolf like look on his face spread, lips curling into a smirk as he moved his knee up and down along her sensitive spot. Each movement sent small waves of pleasure through her, and she bit down on her lip harder to keep the voice in check.

"Who knew you could be so sexy, Kagura," he teased, his head leaning down a bit more, his breath brushing against her ear as he whispered into it. His lips pressed against the sensitive skin, as his hands found their way to her hips. Gin's hands seemed to almost burn against her skin, and the red head found herself pushing against his touch, trying to escape the burning feeling on her skin.

The searing heat of his touch traveled along her skin, his fingers tracing the sides of her body as he nibbled on her earlobe, teeth scraping the soft skin gently as he memorized each curve of her body with his hands. Each new inch covered brought low moans from the sweet pink lips, her body tensing under his touch. _'She really is so cute,'_ he thought to himself, his fingers reaching the boundary marking the edge of her black bra.

Lacy fabric brushed against his fingers, her chest heaving beneath the black silk nightie. Slowly he worked his fingers beneath the lining of the bra, feeling her perky breasts beneath his hands as he slipped the covering from the soft mounds. The bra still trying to perform its function, Gin grasped the breasts, feeling as they near perfectly fit into his grasp.

"Perfect size, Kagura," he teased once more, blowing into her ear as he kneaded the soft buds beneath his grasp. Like a baker kneading the dough, he took great care with the fleshy mounds, rolling them from side to side as he squeezed them firmly.

"Mmmff…" the girl's muffled voice began to leak through the tight seal on her lips, her biting losing its effort as Gintoki continued to massage her breasts. The young red head felt her whole body heat up under his skillful ministrations, her breasts rubbing painfully against the flatness of his palm. He seemed to stop for a moment, before his hands traveled slowly back down her body only a short distance.

"Ah, I wonder what this is," he muttered, pulling back so that he could watch her reactions to his touch. The red hair fanned out behind her head as it rested on the pillow, her face a beautifully glowing pink color. Each breath was a bit ragged, and he grinned as he noticed the pink buds protruding from her breasts.

"Ah, Gin-chan, don't stop," she pleaded, sapphire colored eyes a mix of lust and a near blissful daze. Kagura reached up with her arms, lacing her hands together behind his neck as she pulled him down towards her. Before long their lips were crashing together, tongues pressing against each other for dominance. Saliva mingled between their mouths, small trails of the clear fluid leaking down her chin.

The heat burning in her body grew more intense, a moan escaping into his hot mouth as he began to work her hard nipples between his fingers. He rolled the sensitive buds between his fingers, teasing the girl as their lips remained locked. Gin noticed that the girl's body was losing control, hips pushing wildly up towards him in an attempt to close any space that may have lay between them. With a firm pinch on the hard buds, Gintoki pulled back, watching the panting girl writhing beneath him.

"Now, now, Kagura. No need to rush things," he teased, giving her breasts a firm squeeze to emphasize his point. The heaving of her chest only increased beneath his touch, and her hips continued to push up towards him, still trying to close the distance. "No self control, huh," he asked, not needing an answer. The girl's hands still laced behind his neck pulled him down again, lips meeting in a hot, passionate kiss.

Almost involuntarily, Gin let his body fall upon hers, her legs on either side of his. The pressure around him increased, as her legs hooked around his waist, pulling him closer to her. As he gazed into her eyes, he caught a look he knew he had as well. One of need, of want, of almost pure lust. But it wasn't that. Not quite. It was something else, something he had only caught sight of once. Love. She trusted and cared for him, wanted to be close to him, and in that instant, he knew it was something he felt as well.

"I guess there's no helping it, is there. Just don't complain to me afterwards, Kagura," he cautioned, removing himself painfully from the girl's strong grasp. The slender frame below him seemed to almost slink in disappointment, a low gasp escaping her lips as she watched him back away from her. He watched the slender fingers on her hands begin to explore her body, each taking different paths along the pale skin.

As the girl pulled herself into a sitting position opposite him, she reached for the hem of the baby doll, pulling it slowly upwards along her body. Each inch that traveled upward revealed another inch of smooth, sweet looking skin, contrasting deeply with the solid black of her undergarments. Resting on his haunches for a bit, he watched as the young red head slowly slid the silky fabric over her head, before tossing it to the side.

The sight of her perfectly smooth body, covered only in black lace played in his mind, and he knew it would be something he remembered for any amount of time to come. Once the silk nightie was off, the girl reached behind her, unfastening the clasp on the black bra. Playfully she slid the straps from her shoulders, slipping her arms out from under the bands. As the straps fell forward, the young girl held the black lace against her breasts, obscuring her soft flesh from Gin's view.

"Now, your turn, Gin-chan," Kagura responded, noticing Gintoki's disappointment. His eyes flashed wide for a moment before settling into his trademark smirk. Standing from the bed, the silver haired young man, took a couple of steps away, before turning to her.

"Ah, so demanding," he complained in a mock annoyed tone, his hands quickly finding their way to the clasp at the waist of his pants. Smirking widely, he noticed that the young girl's eyes were riveted directly to where his legs met, and he wondered how often she had thought of just this moment before.

The audible snap of the button, followed by the steady sound of a zipper traveling down. Bending his body at the waist, Gin tugged the black fabric down his legs, solid blue boxers coming into view as his pants pooled towards his feet. Once the waist was low enough, he pulled first the right then left foot from the legs. Keeping hold of the heavy black material, he held it in front of his body, smirking at the disappointed look on Kagura's face.

As their eyes met, both nodded, tossing their black garments simultaneously. Kagura's black bra joined the nightie on the left side of the bed, Gintoki's pants forming a small pile on the right side. Both swallowed small lumps in their throats as they gazed at each other in the pale lamplight. Gin's crimson spheres watching the subtle movement of her soft breasts, watching each gentle heave with her breath, as her crystal blue eyes dropped to the large bulge showing through his boxers.

"Wow, Gin-chan. I guess you get that way just looking at my body, huh?" Kagura teased, lips curled into a smile as he began to approach her, kneeling once more on the bed. The girl did not realize that her hands had taken up positions on her body that were less than convincing to her own argument. One set of fingers massaged her breasts intensely, teasing her nipples as her eyes remained locked on the bulge in his boxers.

The other hand traveled slowly down her body, slender fingers disappearing into the waistband of her black lace panties. Pleasant feelings coursed through her body, speech becoming more difficult between the moans and gasps that escaped her lips. As Gin's body approached, he stopped just in front of her, watching her hands clutching furiously at her body.

"Heh, looks like I'm not the only one feeling it, right Kagura?" he shot back, watching as she simply stroked herself in front of him, her voice becoming more a gasp with each moment. Moving her left hand out of the way, Gintoki leaned down, capturing her right nipple in his mouth. The gasp from her lips gave him a brief pause, before he continued, running his tongue slowly over the pink bud. Slender fingers worked through his thick silver hair, pulling his mouth further onto her firm breasts.

Spreading his lips out, he captured as much of the soft flesh as he could, making sure to keep his tongue focused on the pointed nub in the center. Pulling back with his head a bit, he pressed down on the nipple with his teeth, leaving small, light marks on the hard bit, smiling to himself as the girl's gasps increased in frequency.

"Looks like you're sensitive here, huh?" he asked, his voice a lust filled mask, watching the girl nod weakly in reply. "I wonder how it is here," he continued, running his right hand slowly down the girl's flat stomach. As his fingers reached the waistband to the girl's panties, he felt her other hand stop its ministrations, his own working its way beneath the now soaked black fabric.

Once Gin's hand made its way to her most sensitive spot, Kagura pulled he own hand free from the juncture. Bringing the glaze covered fingers to her face, she looked at it in a daze, watching the clear fluids glowing on her slender, pale fingers. "Wow…" was all she could mutter, bringing the fingers to her lips.

Tracing her lips with her fingers, she felt the hot substance coating her skin, before letting the tips slip into her mouth. A soft moan echoed in her mouth as she licked the substance from her fingers, savoring the taste of her own arousal. Gin simply watched, feeling an extra surge flow to a certain part of his anatomy at the sight of her. Light, wet sounds echoed in his senses as she licked her fingers clean. Her back arched up towards him as he let two fingers slip into her tight opening.

"Ahh! Mmmm…" she moaned as his fingers worked deeper inside of her, his lips resuming their thrashing of her soft breasts. Her grip on his head lessened a bit, and he could tell that she was enjoying the feelings in her body. Pulling his fingers from their position in her slit, he felt her pant in anticipation, a light whimper escaping her lips at the gesture.

"G-G-Gin-chan, d-don't tease me…" she pleaded, her eyes shining with her desire for him. Removing his lips from their resting place atop her firm breasts, Gin pushed himself upward, so he could gaze directly into her face. The depth of her eyes surprised him as they usually did, and he felt himself get lost for a moment before finding his way back to the present.

"Geez, so impatient," he spoke softly, capturing her lips with his own, tasting the remnants of her juices still on her tongue. Slipping his tongue into her waiting mouth, he felt her body pressing up towards his with renewed urgency, and he felt himself with a similar desperation. Pulling up away from the girl beneath him, he quickly tugged his boxers from their position on his legs, leaving Kagura's eyes wide at the sight of his fully erect manhood.

A light gasp rasped from her lips as he reached down towards her own waist, pulling the black fabric down her own legs. The stickiness was more than he had expected, the fancy lace soaked through with her sweet juices. Her face lit up in a darker shade of pink, almost a light red at the realization of just how turned on she had become. Peeling the panties from her body, Gin watched as a trail of her juice rushed from the puffy lips, dripping down onto the sheets below.

As the garment slid down her legs, Kagura's breathing became heavier, each second bare before his view its own blissful agony, until finally the black lace had escaped her legs entirely. In a playful, teasing gesture, Gintoki brought the wet garb to his lips, extending his tongue outward, as though to taste the products of his teasing.

"N-no, Gin-chan. T-that's dirty…" she responded, completely unconvincing as she watched his tongue brush lightly against the black fabric. Gin chuckled in response, before tossing the still wet undergarment to the side, falling gently on the floor near her other discarded clothing. The last garments covering their bodies gone, the pair looked each other over, each memorizing the sights that greeted them as deeply as they could.

After a blissful moment, Gin leaned his body along hers once more, looking deeply into her clear blue eyes, his manhood rubbing casually against her wet entrance. Each rub brought forth another sensual moan, and Gin had to hold back from simply taking refuge within her velvety walls. But he looked into her eyes, watching for something, any sign of uncertainty.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Kagura? There's no going back-" his question was cut off as the girl captured his lips with her own, thrusting her hips up towards his in answer. Taking her actions as permission, he lined himself with her, slipping the end inside of her as their tongues battled once more. Bracing himself, he thrust into her fully in one go, groaning as he reached the deepest parts of her secret spot.

"Aaaaahhh!" she gasped, legs wrapping lewdly around his waist as she pulled him deeper inside of her. The girl had been prepared for some pain, but any present was drowned out by the bliss that crackled within her lithe frame. She thought that Gin would do something like check on her condition, asking if she was alright, yet found herself pleasantly surprised as he slowly withdrew himself from within her, until only the tip was again inside her.

With a loud groan, he pushed inside her again, lost in the pleasure that was emanating from the spot of their joining. Cradling her head with his big, strong hands, he kissed her fervently, his hips thrusting into her with a steady rhythm. Each time he pushed into her, he felt the wetness and heat surrounding him, her soft walls clinging tightly to him, trying to hold him in place.

As he pulled himself out of her, there would be an oddly sensual slurping sound, as though her body were truly craving his manhood to be lodged inside of her forever. Thrusting deeply inside of her, all else ceased to exist. All that he could hear was her passionate moans, her shouts of encouragement. The only feeling that registered was the tight wetness of her womanhood. Her hips bucked up to meet each downward thrust into her, deepening the contact however she could.

Each time he pushed himself into her, Gin thrust harder, matching her desired rhythm signified by her own thrusting hips. The sickly wet sound of his manhood stirring her insides up echoed in his ears, their lips remaining locked as best they were able.

Time droned on and on, as they remained locked together. After a few minutes of thrusting, the girl beneath him panted more deeply, her body tensing in his arms as she pulled her lips away from his.

"Ah, Gin-chan! I-I-it's so g-good. I-I am going to-" her statement was cut off, replaced halfway through by a loud moan, her fingers digging into the strong flesh of his shoulders as she reached her climax. Gintoki groaned as she clenched tighter around him, creating a deceptively soft vice grip on his manhood. The girl's body shook with her climax, before settling down beneath him. Bringing his smirk back to his lips, Gin leaned in towards her ear once more, whispering his desire to her.

"Ah, that's the trouble with you young people. Just lose it all in one go. So sad," he teased, bringing his body above hers again, looking down into her crystalline eyes. Her brows narrowed as the breathing settled, taking his words as a challenge. Reaching up towards him again, the girl pushed heavily against his chest, pushing him onto his back.

"Who said I was all done, Gin-chan," she teased right back, settling herself across his midsection. Her own lips curled into a grin as she dropped herself quickly down onto his still hard manhood. "Gaaah!" she screamed, her hips moving in a near blur, slamming her full weight down onto him to get deeper contact with his hard member.

As she continued to slam herself down onto him, her juices fully coating him, Gin reached out, resting his hands on her hips. Guiding her down straight onto his pole, he thrust his own hips upward, savoring every light squeeze of her unbelievably hot slit.

Before Gin finally reached his limit, they ran through all the basics, culminating in a return to the original position, both their bodies glistening with sweat. Looking into Kagura's still glowing blue eyes, Gintoki felt his body at the limit.

"Ah, it's,"

"It's alright, Gin-chan. I want it," she responded, tightening her legs' hold on his waist, preventing him from pulling out even if he had so desired. With one final deep thrust, Gin felt his body tense, as he released fully inside of her hot tunnel. Mixed screams of ecstasy filled the room, before Gintoki collapsed next to the young woman, his energy fully spent from their exertions.

"Wow, that was great," Kagura spoke, cuddling herself up to her now lover. Both bodies still gasped for air, yet Gin threw his arm around her shoulders, hugging the girl close as he pulled the sole clean blanket up over their bare forms. Once the cover was settled nicely across their bodies, Gin brushed a few stray strands of silky red hair from her damp forehead, planting a soft kiss on the smooth skin.

"It sure was fun. Hopefully you won't be so demanding every time," he teased, earning a playful punch from the younger girl.

"Look who's talking? I'm going to be so sore tomorrow," she responded, an innocent puffing of the cheeks as she kissed his bare chest.

"Well, lots of time for fun, you know," he added, chuckling to himself as his eyelids slowly began to hood closed. The last thing he remembered before drifting off to sleep was the soft cooing of the young girl in his arms, bringing a smile to his face as sleep took him.

Sometime later, Gin woke with a start, breathing heavily as he looked around the room. Kagura still slept to his side, one arm thrown carelessly over his body, hair a mess from the usual sleep patterns. Smiling to himself, the young man slowly extricated himself from her strong grasp.

Grasping clumsily for a pair of boxers, he slid the blue cotton up over his legs, wincing a bit at the sensation of cloth rubbing against his raw skin. "Geez, who's complaining about being sore?" he asked to no one in particular, carefully closing the bedroom door as he lumbered towards the kitchen.

Each step echoed oddly loud against the walls, before he finally reached he fridge. Popping it open, he winced as he remembered that he had taken the last of the strawberry milk earlier that day. With a sigh, he shut the fridge, but straightened up as he felt an odd presence in the house.

"Who's there?" he asked, focusing his gaze on the blue sofa in the living room. A soft outline shone in the glimmers of moonlight, a head turning towards him as he strode into the living room.

"Aww, now don't tell me you forgot about me, did you?" A familiar voice stopped him in his tracks, and he gulped deeply on the lump that sat sickeningly in his throat. There was no way? What would she be doing back here? The almost deafening click of the lamp in the living room, and Gin's fears were replaced with a mixture of gratitude and apprehension.

"I-it can't be. Tsukuyo?" his eyes were the size of saucers as he met the near forgotten lavender orbs. Her face rose into a smile, her body lifting from the sofa as she leapt over to him, landing just in front of him.

"Who else would it be, you idiot?" she teased, none of the roughness that he remembered having disappeared in the long time since he had last seen her. Whatever her purpose was for coming, he knew it would mean trouble for him.

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**This one made me a little bit uncomfortable to write, in all honesty. I tried my best to make it tasteful, and tried my best to keep the language as unlemon as possible. As far as I know, I use all the positive euphemisms for the sexual organs, so taht is something. If this gets adequate reception, I may try another GinKagu lemon, but who knows. 2 more chapters to go, and the dramatic twist comes up next chapter courtesy of the girl tied for my favorite Gintama heroine, Tsukuyo. Is Gin and Kagura's life together over just as it gets started? Stay tuned, loyal readers.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 09  
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**Rating: T**

**Well, this is the second to last chapter of this story. Not as good as past installments to my own eyes, but hopefully you will all enjoy it nonetheless. Tsukuyo shows up and Gintoki gets a rude awakening. Any thoughts on how this one turned out will be helpful. That said, enjoy the ninth installment of this story.

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"Heh, I see you're just as ill-mannered as always, Tsukki," he joked back, smirking as he watched her face fall into one of mild annoyance. He knew that the young blonde had never cared for the nickname, something he took advantage of any chance he could.

"And it looks like you're still a bad host. You haven't even given me a proper greeting," she responded, just a trace of hurt in her voice at his seemingly cold reaction.

Chuckling lightly to himself, he gave a word of apology, and all was forgotten as he threw his arms carelessly around the young woman's shoulders. Slender yet strong arms wound around his midsection, returning his hug. As the pair broke apart, Gintoki gave the young woman a warm smile, before offering her a seat upon the sofa. He knew she had already been there, but his sense of manners dictated that he should properly offer.

Taking a position on the nearby chair, he considered the young woman carefully. Nothing seemed to have changed regarding her appearance, something he found oddly comforting.

"So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" he asked, smile slipping slightly as he got right to the heart of the matter. Taking a deep breath as though to prepare herself, the young woman reached into her flowing black kimono, producing the pipe that he had purchased for her so long ago.

"I don't suppose you have a light on ya," she asked, the long pipe held firmly between slender fingers. With an amused grin, Gin leaned to his right, sliding open a small drawer on the nearby table. Reaching inside, he produced a silvery lighter. Tossing it to the young woman, he noticed a look of surprise on her strong features.

"Seemed like a waste to throw it out, you know? Figured you'd be back for it at some point," he spoke, answering her unasked question. For a moment, she simply gazed at the bright silver, rubbing her thumb over the intricately carved demon's face adorning the front of the item.

"I can't believe you kept it. I thought you quit a long time ago," she said, half question half statement as her lips curled into a sweet, appreciative smile. Gin simply leaned back, raspberry colored orbs focused on her black kimono.

"Like I said, I figured it was too nice to just toss out. I knew that it was a big deal when you gave it to me, and I'm not so evil as to just toss out something like that," his smirk widened a bit, memories of their shared past flashing in his mind.

"Thanks, Gin," she responded, flipping the lid open. Flicking her thumb easily across the flint, she watched the bright orange flame flicker a bit in the light, as though it were dancing atop the lighter's opening. Once she had lit up her store of tobacco, she propped the pipe between her soft lips, taking a relatively deep puff of the acrid smoke.

"No problem. So, what brings you here this time of night?" he asked once more, eyes slightly hooding closed as the scent of burning tobacco filled his nostrils. It was a scent he had long since forsaken, a vain attempt to maintain some manner of health for himself.

"Ah, how cold of you. Trying to get rid of me so quickly?" she shot back, turning her lavender gaze towards him, hoping that he did not notice the appraising glance she was giving him. In their time apart, she marked to herself how nicely he had maintained his body. It was more strange, given his propensity for laziness. She always had wondered how he managed to keep himself in such shape.

"Nothing like that, Tsukki," he added, watching her smile drop just a bit at the second use of the nickname. It was strange to him, that he still felt so close to her even after so long.

"I see you still haven't ceased that silly nickname even after all this time. It has been what, five years, or is it six?" she asked, a second puff of smoke wafting carelessly into the air. Gin took a deep breath, as he tried to remember just how long they had been parted.

"I guess it must be something like that, huh? The time really flies…" he spoke, tints of nostalgia in his voice. Tsukuyo, above all the others in his life, had been his best friend and compatriot during their teen years.

"Seems like you have not had that hard a time of it, eh Gintoki?" she asked, eyes darting around as she gazed at the furniture adorning the living space. Gin recognized the look on her face, one of envy and desire. Turning his head from the young blonde, he lightly scratched the side of his neck, trying to wring out the tension that had bubbled up at the sight of her.

"Things are alright, I guess," he answered, his mind battling between contrasting opinions. One half of him wanted nothing more than to excuse the young blonde and slip back into bed with his new love to sleep the night away. But the other half rejoiced at seeing the young woman, wanting to reminisce and catch up on what they had been up to since last they had seen each other.

He watched as she crossed her left leg over the right, the long black kimono slipping to the side just a bit. Eyes riveted to her long, slender legs, covered still with the familiar fishnet stockings that he always remembered.

"Gintoki?" her voice brought him out of a particularly vivid recollection he was having. Visions of those long legs wrapped around his waist, lips voraciously seeking out his passed through his mind. Times long past.

"Oh, sorry, guess I'm just a little tired," he lied. Rubbing the back of his head in an apologetic way, Tsukuyo's purple spheres seemed to narrow a bit, and he wondered for an instant if she knew somehow what he had been thinking.

"Hmm, it's nothing important," she responded. Even past the billowing smoke from the pipe, Gin could still make out the character defining scars upon the girl's otherwise flawless skin. It was always strange to him that a woman as rough and violent as those around him managed to take such good care of themselves.

"So, Tsukuyo, what brings you back here?" he asked, any previous hints of displeasure at her presence replaced with genuine curiosity. Not often that someone he sometimes figured for dead would simply drop in on him, after all.

"Just back in town to visit some old friends. You keep in touch with all the old gang?" she inquired, a single brow quirked upward in curiosity.

"Most of them, yeah. Every now and then…" his voice dropped into a tone of melancholy, memories of the old days running in his mind.

"You and Hijikata still at each other like cats and dogs?" she teased, a manner of teasing that few would dare with someone of Gin's reputation. The light twinkle of her eyes made her that much more radiant, truly like her namesake. As though replying to her own mood, Gin felt himself smile a bit, realizing that not all the results of growing up had been bad.

"Things are better, but you know how it is, right? No way he can handle someone being better than him, especially a delinquent. Once the chair of the discipline committee, always the same right?" With that, the pair shared a laugh, playing back previous encounters between Gintoki and Hijikata growing up.

"So, which one of you decided to grow up first?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I never would have pictured Hijikata growing up from how I remember him."

"…" Gintoki's annoyed silence brought an amused chuckle from the blonde, her bangs hanging in front of her face, framing her features beautifully.

"Ah, sorry. But you have to admit, it would be hard for anyone to picture you of all people as mature, right?" Gin knew that she had a good point, but was never one to admit his fault in an argument.

"So I heard he is a pretty important official in the Shinsengumi, right? Pretty impressive, especially considering that he never managed to beat you. Bet you get lots of attention from the same brass, eh?" she complimented him, scooting just a tad closer to him as she spoke. The scent of tobacco smoke now filled the room, as Tsukuyo took the last puff from her pipe.

"Well, there's nothing to do about it when you're as well-known as me," he wasn't sure if he was being modest, or if he was annoyed at the idea. He truly enjoyed his life of relatively isolated tranquility, so having it interrupted was not something he would enjoy.

"Good point. Heck, even I get some unnecessary attention and I was just the second in command," Gin's face hardened a bit at the mention of their past, not many of the memories being too pleasant.

"I'd forgotten all about that," he lied, his tone dimming just a bit as his gaze shifted to the dark brown floor at his feet. Tsukuyo seemed to catch onto his change of mood, as she watched his form in the lamplight.

"Gintoki, it wasn't your fault," she responded, knowing what was brewing in his mind. Placing a reassuring hand atop his forearm, resting on her haunches to his side. Gin felt his eyes widen, his pulse quickening a shade as he realized how close they were. It had been so long since he had seen her last, yet the time seemed to simply vanish.

"Tsukuyo…" he began, memories flashing in his mind. Tearing his arm from her grasp, he quickly stood, turning away from the young blonde woman. "But it was my fault. I was the one in charge, and if it hadn't been for me, then-" Then nothing. No words could come from his lips as Tsukuyo leapt to her feet, throwing her arms around him from behind, her deceptively strong grip holding him in place.

"It's not your fault, Gintoki! None of us blames you for what happened."

"Then why did you leave?!" he nearly spat out, turning to face the young woman. His eyes shone with all the hurt and anger he had felt, the betrayal at being abandoned at his most vulnerable. Tsukuyo let her gaze drop to the floor at her feet, as though lost for words. A few deep breaths slipped between Gin's lips as he attempted to calm himself. After a few moments more, he sighed heavily, placing his hands on the young woman's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Gintoki," she mumbled, catching him by surprise. Slowly she brought her gaze to his, and he thought he caught a faint blush on her cheeks. Realizing their position, he pulled away slowly, hoping to avoid any kind of physical pain. It had slipped his mind that for all her talk of 'abandoning her womanhood', Tsukuyo was just as capable of a horrible reaction to being touched in the wrong way by a man as any other woman.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you," he mumbled in return, running his fingers through his thick mess of hair. Silence. Things suddenly felt terribly awkward between them, all the time spent apart returning in full at the awkwardness.

"It's my fault. You're right, I never should have left," she spoke, eyes meeting his as she did.

"Then why did you?" his curiosity had been piqued. It was something that he had kept with him for a while afterwards. He had gotten lucky that Tae had been there for him when she was, or his life likely would have turned out so differently.

"I wasn't strong enough. None of us were, but you, Gintoki. We all looked up to you, and wanted to be as strong as you were," Gin's eyes widened again, mouth hanging open loosely at her words.

"W-what are you talking about? You were one of the strongest around back then-"

"But nothing compared to you, Gintoki!" she yelled, all her forgotten frustration seeping back into her body. All the times she had been protected, all the times he had solved any problems she was having.

"What do you mean? I'm not that special. If I was as good as everyone thinks, then he would still be alive," the melancholy tone once more, images of his lifelong friend, his body broken and beaten beating against his mind.

"Why do you think he went and did that? He wanted what we all did, to be equal with you. He just went too far with it."

"But I could have protected him, helped him, saved him."

"Gintoki, he made his choice. He wouldn't want you to be showing pity over him because of that," Tsukuyo responded, her hand shaking as she placed them on his warm cheeks, rubbing away his tension.

"Tsukuyo…" her name just rolled off of his tongue, past his lips. He felt himself becoming lost in the deep purple of her eyes, the silky blonde hair swaying gently in her face. Yet, even as he stared at the young woman in front of him, he found his thoughts drifting to another girl, wanting the blonde hair to be red, purple eyes to be the impossibly deep blue.

"Gin-chan?" A now familiar voice echoed from the bedroom, and two pairs of eyes drifted over to the young girl. Gintoki found himself slapping his palm to his forehead at the sight of her, wondering how Tsukuyo would handle the situation.

"Kagura-chan, can I ask you something?" he asked in a mock annoyed tone, earning a confused nod from the young girl. "Why did we go out today, I wonder?" he asked again, hinting at the purpose for their earlier trip into town. Kagura seemed to blink a few times in consideration, her brows furrowing as she tried to think.

"Gintoki, why is there a naked girl standing in your living room?" Tsukuyo asked, Kagura's eyes widening as the whole scene fell into view. Looking from the blonde in the black kimono, hands resting affectionately on Gintoki's cheeks, Gin in only his boxers, and her with no clothing on at all.

"Gin-chan, who's this hussy?!" Kagura yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde, leaving out her admiration for the figure that was held within the black fabric.

"Who's this supposed to be?!" Tsukuyo asked in turn, hiking a thumb towards the young red-head.

Gintoki suddenly wished that he were somewhere far, far away from the current situation. In the few similar experience he had gone through in this arena, Gin knew that it was never a good thing to have multiple ladies in the same room if they both had a thing for the same guy. With a heavy sigh, Gintoki ambled over to the sofa, plopping himself down atop its comforting blue material.

"Kagura, put on some clothes, and we'll have a talk," he responded, rubbing his temples in frustration, hoping that the situation would somehow resolve itself without any bloodshed. The tension between Tsukuyo and Kagura was palpable, and Gintoki knew he had a huge mess on his hands.

The young red-head quickly disappeared into his bedroom, and Gin thought for an instant that his room was a war zone with all the noise that was emanating from within. Tsukuyo took up a position to Gintoki's right, arms crossed against her ample chest as she shot him an accusatory look.

"So, who is she, Gintoki?" the young woman asked, eyes narrowing dangerously as Kagura bounded back into the living room, taking up a seat on Gin's lap. Throwing her arms around his neck, she shot a mocking tongue out towards the blonde woman, delighting at the mixture of annoyance and jealousy on her face.

"Tsukuyo, this is Kagura," he answered, a couple fingers still rubbing out the tension from his forehead.

"So, who is this floozy, Gin-chan?" Kagura spat back, maintaining her perch atop Gin's lap.

"Kagura, this is Tsukuyo. We go back a long way,"

"That is true, I have known Gintoki for years, girlie. We're very close," Tsukuyo smirked at the frustrated look on Kagura's face, not figuring it would do much harm to leave out the exact nature of their relationship, or how long it had been since they had actually seen one another.

"Now, don't go causing any trouble, Tsukki," Kagura snickered at the nickname for the blonde woman, who herself was fuming over its use now three times in one night.

"Tsukki? What a silly nickname, how fitting for a tramp like you," Kagura mocked the older woman, sensing that Tsukuyo indeed disliked the name.

"Who's the tramp? You're the one who just barged into the room totally naked, and I bet you still would be if Gintoki wasn't as honorable as he is," Tsukuyo returned. Gintoki felt himself being put in the middle of the conversation, before being left out entirely as insults continued to fly between the pair of girls.

Gradually, the girls leaned closer towards one another, and Gin knew that a confrontation was looming. A stitch throbbing on his forehead, he listened to the insults being hurled back and forth between the two most important people to him, and he had enough.

"Enough arguing! You're both so damn noisy," he shouted, rewarding both girls with a swift blow to the back of the head. Pushing Kagura from her perch on his lap to the other side of him, Gin stood up, looking down towards both girls as they rubbed the fresh wounds on their heads.

"S-sorry, Gintoki," they said in unison, thoroughly cowed by his outburst. Sighing deeply, Gintoki took his place between both girls once more and tried to calm things down as much as possible.

"Alright, now how about we start again?" he suggested, earning a weak nod from both girls.

"So, what is your relationship with this… lovely young lady, Gintoki?" Tsukuyo asked first, her heart beating a bit in anticipation of the answer. She knew enough to recognize when two people had a connection going, and their respective levels of undress made it that much easier.

"Well, I picked up this kitten a few days ago, and we've gotten pretty close," he answered, ruffling the girl's hair as he spoke, earning a contented sigh from her. Tsukuyo had been prepared, yet it still hurt her a bit inside to see him acting so friendly with another girl.

"So I can see," she hoped none of the hurt or bitterness shone in her eyes, but she should have known Gin better than that. He reached out towards her, gently stroking her cheek, an unworded apology for her hurt feelings. The blonde woman felt as though she may just begin to cry, but forced a smile anyway. "It's alright, Gintoki," she responded, trying to force herself to think of anything but the current situation.

"So, Gin-chan, who is this?" Kagura asked, nearly purring beneath Gintoki's pleasant touch.

"Ah, that will take a much longer time to explain," he mumbled, not wanting to go into all the details. But as he looked into Kagura's blue eyes, he noticed the pleading look she was giving him, and so grudgingly decided to explain the story. Or at least enough to satisfy her curiosity.

"Well, Gintoki, it seems you found a really cute girl, didn't you?" Tsukuyo teased, her forced smile turning to a more genuine one as she watched the way Kagura smiled under Gin's touch. As jealous as she was over the girl, she could tell that the red-head was a good girl, someone that Gintoki deserved.

"I guess so. So, you want to tell her or should I?" he asked, hoping that Tsukuyo would not just leave him to explain it all in detail.

"Eh, it's much better when you say it, Gin-chan," she responded, smirking with a bit of teasing on her voice as she referred to him using Kagura's more cutesy nickname.

"Agh, fine. Well, back when I was a teenager, I was what you might call a delinquent."

"Shocking," Kagura responded sarcastically, earning an amused chuckle from Tsukuyo.

"_ANYWAY,_ I somehow ended up with a group of capable people around me. Takasugi, Katsura, and Tsukuyo here. As great as they all were, Tsukuyo was what you would call my second in command.

"Being a group of delinquents, we ended up going against Hijikata's boys in the discipline committee. It was always a good fight, but it got to be really annoying after a while. That guy just can't take a hint."

"That guy with the disturbing kid from the Shinsengumi?" Kagura questioned, her lips pulled into a look as though she had eaten something distasteful.

"Yeah, that guy. He was always trying to "reform us misguided souls" or something stupid like that. I always thought he was a jerk."

"But you seemed to get along alright when you met the other day, didn't you?"

"You met Hijikata the other day and it didn't end in a fight? He must have really grown up, or he wanted something from 'ya." Tsukuyo added, figuring there was only one thing that Hijikata could really want from Gintoki.

"Well, something like that. He mellowed out a bit in the last few months, and I guess Kyuubei has something to do with that. Never would have thought he could be tamed by a lady, but the proof is all there." Gin mused, smirking at the thought of Hijikata, the demon vice commander of Shinsengumi, whipped into doing housework and stuff.

"So, you were more of a delinquent back then, Gin-chan. What happened?" Kagura asked innocently, brows knitting together in concern at Gin's dour expression. Tsukuyo also felt a little tense at the sight, and knew that it would be hard for Gin to talk about it.

"Well, you know, everyone has to grow up a bit sometime, eh?" Gin mumbled, his forced smile not fooling either girl.

"Honestly, there was an incident," Tsukuyo began.

"The one where Gintoki earned his big reputation?" Kagura asked, curious by the shake of the head from the older blonde.

"No, it wasn't that. But it was similar. Back in the day, Gintoki was the widely acknowledged strongest guy in the country. Other delinquents would come from all over to challenge him, and he beat them all. At least, the ones that were worthy to get past one of the rest of us." Tsukuyo spoke with pride at the memory, remembering the occasions she had seen Gintoki's fighting prowess.

"So you guys were all strong?" Kagura asked, eyes darting from Gintoki to Tsukuyo, trying to piece together their true relationship with no indicators.

"Yeah, we were pretty good. But one of us was not as happy being in Gintoki's shadow," Gintoki's body tightened at the sentence, and Kagura could tell it was not something he liked to think about.

"Who was that?" Kagura spoke, letting her soft hands rest on Gintoki's strong forearm, soothing the tension in his body a bit.

"Shinsuke Takasugi," Gintoki spoke at last, teeth nearly clenching at the mention of the other man. Kagura's mind tried to process the name, knowing she had heard it before. Finally her brain clicked, and as though acknowledging her deduction, Gintoki nodded. "Yeah, that one."

"What about him?"

"After that incident, there were still some Amanto coming to Earth. Most of them were peaceful enough, and were just curious about our culture and planet. They seemed nice enough."

"But Takasugi didn't see it that way," Gintoki continued from where Tsukuyo left off, a tint of bitterness on his voice.

"All he saw were more advanced beings slowly taking over the planet. So, one day, he went off, determined to make a name for himself, equal with the "White Demon"," Tsukuyo spoke once more, her own voice echoing Gintoki's sadness.

"But he chose the wrong group of aliens to attack. Unlike the group we fought the first time, he chose one that had weapons, real weapons and soldiers to use them." Gin's jaw clenched shut at the thought, and Tsukuyo joined Kagura in trying to offer him some comfort.

"He took out quite a few of them, but they were too much for him. After a while, he was overwhelmed and they sent his body back… as a warning to Gintoki," Tsukuyo continued, squeezing Gin's hand with her own. Kagura felt her heart crack just a bit. The carefree way he acted gave no impression that something so bad could have happened in his past.

"Gin-chan…"

"So, he got killed because he wanted to have the "recognition" that I had. But he didn't even get that. Being killed for such a stupid reason. What an idiot," Gintoki spat out the last bits of it, leaning back against the backing of the sofa. His crimson eyes drifted up towards the ceiling, imagining the whole scenario in his mind.

"I told you, it wasn't your fault. He wouldn't have blamed you. He was responsible for his own faults, not you. There is nothing you could have done," Tsukuyo spoke, her voice as soft as she had ever heard it herself. She did not want Gintoki to be carrying such a weight all on his own, but knew there was nothing she could do to lessen it.

"I know that. But if I hadn't gotten the group together, maybe none of this would be happening," and Kagura knew that he wasn't just reminiscing any longer. She knew he was talking about what was happening in the present, lamenting his part in events.

"Gin-chan?" Kagura asked sweetly, pulling the older man's attention back to her. His silver locks swayed ever so slightly as he moved, burning into her clear blue pools with his dark crimson spheres.

"There you have it, Kagura. The whole story," he muttered somewhat darkly, cursing silently at the situation he found himself in.

"No it isn't, Gin-chan," she spoke once more, earning a confused look from both other parties.

"You still haven't told me about your relationship with this blondie here," Kagura asked, cheeks puffed out in a pout, disbelieving blinks from Gintoki and Tsukuyo.

"Little brat! No need to ruin the-" The blonde could not continue her rant as Gintoki burst into a fit of laughter, brought on by the sudden switch of modes in the conversation. Tsukuyo continued to blink in disbelief, watching as Gintoki leaned forward a bit, capturing Kagura's lips with his own. Another surge of the previously forgotten jealousy through her chest at the sight. Never had she considered such a method to break his moods.

"Ah, sorry Kagura. To be honest, Tsukuyo here was my first love. During those old days, when she was at my side, it wasn't just because of her strength. It was because she was my special person," Tsukuyo blushed a bit as both the others' attention panned onto her, causing her to fidget in her seat.

"So, why is she here now?" Kagura asked, with the suspicious lover kind of tone on her voice. Gintoki raised a brow towards Tsukuyo as Kagura asked the question that he had been pondering since he had caught sight of her.

Sighing in abject defeat, Tsukuyo let her lips pull into a smile once more, as she looked at the pair before her. Kagura with her arms now wrapped tightly around Gintoki's waist, head nestled tightly against his chest. The blonde wondered if, had she not disappeared all that time ago, would that be her there nestled comfortably against his strong body?

"Well, you really found a winner Gintoki. Well, the reason I am here is to get you," she answered the question, watching the surprised reactions of both people in front of her.

"What do you mean?" Kagura asked, tightening her grip on Gintoki's body, her possessive instincts taking over.

"Ah, it's not like that. Gintoki, the strength of the 'White Demon' is needed again," Tsukuyo spoke cleanly, producing a piece of paper from the sleeve of her kimono. Handing it to Gintoki, he and Kagura began to read. As his eyes reached the bottom of the page, he turned his gaze back to Tsukuyo, all the color from his cheeks gone.

"Y-you're sure about this, Tsukuyo?" he asked, gripping the paper tightly in hand. The young woman simply nodded, all traces of merriment gone from her face.

"We're at war, and you've been drafted." Gintoki was getting sick of his bad feelings panning out so often.

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**Ah, Gintoki needs to pay more attention to his bad feelings. Sorry if this one seems really bad compared to others, it was a huge effort just to get typing this one. I think it would have turned out worse, mostly in terms of consistency. Just the way it felt to me. Thoughts appreciated. Next chapter is the end. Will Gintoki make it back to his love or will the war be too much for him to handle? Stay tuned for the finale, folks.**

**Also, one other piece of news. I had originally planned to stretch out Family Affair, but the next one will be the last one. Not just arbitrarily ending it, mind you. The next one could have been the ending, and I decided to make that so. That will be published after the conclusion to this story. So look forward to caps on both my ongoing stories in the coming days, loyal readers.  
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	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 (Final)**

**Rating: K**

**Ah, this is the final chapter of Once Upon A Time Girl. For those of you who have read all the installments of this story, I offer my most sincere gratitude. This story has been a lot of fun to write, and I am sad to see it ending. I never got into the details of the setting and what have you, something I hope to address in future stories. Just because this story is done, does not mean this setting will not be revisited. It was just a lot of fun to write, so I may do a sequel. Anyway, hope you enjoy the conclusion to the story.

* * *

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Clasping her hands together beneath her head, the young red head turned onto her side, staring blankly at the opposite side of the bed. Her lips showed no emotion, simply a straight line stretching across her unusually harsh features. Crystal blue eyes hung open lazily, none of her usual spark present as she simply stared at the spot where he should be.

With a heavy sigh, the young girl turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. Slowly, she stretched her right arm up towards the sky, watching the small lines in the ceiling through her open fingers. The white fabric of his kimono slipped down her arm, pooling around her shoulder as she held her arm outstretched.

"Gin-chan…" she whispered, a hoarse, worn quality to her voice as the words creaked out. Images of his carefree smile, his mess of silver hair, and his unusual behavior brought the familiar sting to the back of her eyes, a dry, humorless laugh escaping her lips. She knew that if he were there, he would have smacked her in the head for being so mopey, so silly. She knew that Gintoki wouldn't want to see her being so depressed, lacking all of her trademark energy.

As she slowly willed herself into a sitting position, Kagura could almost hear her body creaking with the effort, the atmosphere around her seeming so dreary, so utterly oppressive. Bringing her right hand to her face, she covered her mouth as a yawn sounded through the room, a sign that the new day had indeed begun.

Shaking the sting from her eyes, the red head looked about the room, hesitant at its state of cleanliness. Turning her gaze back to herself, she felt an involuntary smile creep its way onto her pale features, watching the white kimono fall open a bit as she slumped forward a bit. She wondered idly what Gintoki would think if he were to see her wearing his own kimono, especially as sleepwear.

Feeling a burst of positive energy with her smile, the girl tossed the covers aside, slipping easily from the large bed. A light shiver ran up her spine as her bare feet came into contact with the cold wood floor, and she wrapped her arms around her for more warmth.

"Damn it, it's so cold," she muttered to herself, wishing deeply that she could simply curl up next to Gintoki, let his warmth fill her entire being. Gradually, her mind began to drift, from thoughts of simple warmth, to the kind of warmth that came with a deep blush, the kind felt beneath the touch of a lover. The soft smile on her face slipped into something more resembling a leer, a dreamy look overtaking her face.

"Ah, can't think of that," she chided herself, lightly clasping her hands to the flushed cheeks of her face as she shook the thoughts from her mind. "I guess I should figure out something for breakfast," she continued, tightening the kimono around her small frame.

Forcing her feet to move, each step brought another small shiver through her body as warm feet came into contact with new tracts of cool wood. The entire house seemed oddly empty, a feeling she had noticed ever since he had left.

A dangerous thought crept into her mind, but she shook it off. Kagura was in no mood to be thinking of even the possibility of him not returning. It simply was not an option to be considered.

Taking in a deep breath, the red head tried to calm herself, to shake any doubts from her mind. As she exhaled, she opened her eyes, realizing that she had made her way into the small kitchen. Reaching out, she opened the refrigerator, wincing at the sight of its seemingly cavernous emptiness.

Despite its empty appearance, Kagura felt no inclination to go out and replenish its stores of sustenance. Grumbling to herself, the girl let the door fall closed, listening to the light vacuum sound as she turned back towards the living room. The corners of her lips pulled into a dissatisfied frown as she trudged towards the blue sofa, the small television growing slightly larger as she approached it.

Plopping herself down on the velvety material coating the couch, she reached for the remote control, flipping through the channels idly. Each channel barely had a chance to appear on the screen before she flipped to the next, paying no real attention to the material appearing on them. Each one that passed increased her tension, until she reached the beginning channel once more and simply clicked the power off.

Tossing the remote aside, Kagura leaned against the back of the sofa, her head hanging lazily over the edge as she had seen Gintoki do so often. Letting her eyes drift towards the floor in her now nearly upside down position, she noticed that her red hair had grown a bit, and could see it hanging teasingly towards the ground.

Somehow the sight of the dark brown of the floor brought her mind back to the silver haired young man, as everything seemed to now that he was gone. She imagined what kind of lecture she might get from him if she were to munch on any of his sweets, how she would tease him in return, and they would eventually both end up smiling like idiots at the end of it.

Once he got back, she would have to remember to take some of his strawberry milk for herself, especially if it were the last traces of it in the house. Her mind drifted to the empty refrigerator, and how little she felt like going out to replenish it. It had only been a few weeks since he had left, but somehow she had not felt like going out, opting to either sleep in, or laze about on the sofa.

Rolling her head from side to side, Kagura surveyed the living room from her upside down position, eyes finally resting on a few scattered clothes. A light blush crept on her cheeks at the sight of her lacy pink underwear strewn carelessly on the floor. Another turn of the eyes revealed similarly discarded garments, both male and female all across the floor.

"Guess I should do some laundry," she whispered to herself, throat feeling oddly dry. Letting a bit of saliva pool in her mouth, she let it drip down her throat, cooling the scratchy feeling a bit. Popping onto her feet, Kagura padded towards the bathroom, figuring it would be a good idea to gather the clothes from the hamper for cleaning while she was at it.

Slipping into the bathroom, Kagura stopped in front of the mirror, barely noticing herself beneath the loose fitting white fabric of the kimono. She snickered a bit to herself at the silly appearance, his clothes obviously too large for her to wear in public. But at home, it was the only thing that seemed to offer her some peace of mind. Give her some reminder of him, some measure of his presence.

A smile graced her lips as she recalled the first night she had attempted to sleep in the bed without him, how uncomfortable it had seemed. Tossing and turning as she attempted to fall asleep, her eyes had simply refused to stay closed. No amount of counting or pleasant thoughts did the trick, and it seemed that sleep would never grace her with its recuperative effect after Gin had left.

But finally she had gotten a sight of one of his spare kimonos, its white fabric almost shining in the pale moonlight. A twang of pain in her heart at the sight, she had slipped from the bed, almost in a trance as she reached for the kimono. Before she had truly realized what she was doing, slender arms had been encased in the soft fabric, and all the tension in her chest had simply disappeared.

Closing the garment around her body, she had felt an indescribable warmth deep in her stomach, similar to the one she felt the first night she had slept on the sofa with Gintoki. She could still remember the soft scent of chocolate that wafted from the kimono, making her giggle at the thought of his addiction to sweets.

Slipping back into the soft bed, she had almost been able to fully recall the feeling of his strong arms wrapped caringly around her stomach, holding her slight frame against his own lean body. Sleep had found her easily after that, and she had made it a habit to slip into his kimono before bed each night.

Bringing herself back to the task at hand, Kagura slipped the kimono from her slender frame, revealing her usual red Chinese attire beneath it. Tossing it into the pile, she gathered the dirty articles of clothing in her arms, before making her way back into the living room. Tossing it all onto the floor, she went back towards the bathroom, veering towards the small closet that held the cleaning supplies.

Popping open the door, she produced the wash basin, the washboard resting against one of the sides. Taking a grip of the cool metal, the young girl turned back towards the living room once more, pacing her way towards the entranceway of the small home. As cool as the wood had felt against her bare feet, the stone of the entryway seemed much more so, and she hoped it would warm up soon if only to save her cold feet.

Sliding open the front door, Kagura shivered a bit at the cool feel of the air, watching her breath waft upwards in the cold air. It always amused her the way that breath became visible in cold weather, and she smiled at the sight. Quickly the amused feeling of seeing her breath dissipated, as the cold began to nip at her still bare toes.

Kagura made her way towards the faucet quickly, pumping the basin filled with water before dashing back into the house. The relative warmth of the small structure comforted her, rubbing her arms harshly with her palms in an attempt to warm up. With a groan of annoyance, she set the metallic basin down on the stone entryway, watching the water sway to and fro from the gesture.

Turning her attention back into the living room, she made her way to the various locations of the discarded undergarments, each one grabbed bringing forth another memory of a lust filled moment of passion. Images of her slender frame pinned beneath his muscular body, sounds of ecstasy escaping her lips with each movement flashed in her mind. Desperately trying to lose the images, Kagura hastened the gathering of the stray garments, before making her way back towards the entryway.

Tossing them onto the pile with the rest of the clothing, she added the bits of soap that would be needed for cleaning, trying to ignore the cold of the water biting at her fingertips. Once the water was at the desired levels of soapiness, she set about organizing the clothing, figuring there was no point in ruining all of the material.

Sorting the fabrics into the necessary separate pile did not take very long, and so she set all the whites into the basin, save for a single white kimono. As much as she knew it needed to be cleaned, she could not bring herself to erase the still remaining hints of his calming scent from the cloth. An odd smirk crossed her lips as she thought of whether or not she was strange, if it was weird to enjoy the mere scent of the man she knew she loved so deeply.

But she did not care what others might think, as the kimono helped her sleep, with its reassuring warmth. Almost as though his presence filled the garment, offering her some measure of peace. Taking hold of the kimono, she tossed it to the side, apart from any of the other piles of clothes. Smiling to herself, Kagura set back to her task, milling the clothes around in the soapy water, letting them soak in the cleansing liquid.

"_Eh, better be careful there, Kagura. Don't want to ruin the clothes now_," her body tensed up, and her breathing nearly ceased entirely. She dared not turn around, dared not place her gaze in the direction of the caring voice. Was she going crazy? Had her grief stricken mind created some illusion to comfort her? Or just maybe…

She wanted desperately to turn around, to see the sight of those deep crimson orbs focused reassuringly on her.

But she knew in her heart that if she were to look behind her, the illusion would disappear, leaving her alone once more. So she simply smiled, grasping a single garment from within the basin. Rubbing it carefully yet firmly against the washboard, she watched the soapy water run off of the shirt, draining back into the metallic basin.

"_Geez, why do you have to use an umbrella like this? It is such a pain to fix it_," his voice showed his frustration, and Kagura's smile deepened a bit. She remembered to when they had shared this kind of moment, her washing the clothes while he grudgingly attempted to fix a tear in her purple umbrella. It always amazed her how he was fairly skilled in nearly any endeavor.

"_Damn it! What the hell?!"_ his aggravation reaching the breaking point as he began to stream complaints about the fickle material he was working with, all following a single tear and snap as some of the items used to fix the umbrella broke beneath his forceful efforts to jam it into correct positioning. Yet, he had continued to work on the purple item, each curse and dissatisfied grumbling brightening the girl's smile.

The subtle sound of water passing through cloth began to take over, as she scrubbed the soapy water from the white garments, eventually drowning out the memorable sounds of Gintoki's annoyed complaints. Her smile began to falter, and the familiar sting began to poke at the backs of her eyes.

"Kagura-chan?" A familiar, soft voice brought her attention towards the front door, unaware that it had even opened. Just inside of the doorway stood her onetime sister in law, and always big-sis, eyes widened in surprise.

"Big-sis? What are you doing here?" Kagura asked weakly, sniffling as she wiped at the salty liquid dripping from her eyes.

"I just wanted to check up on you. Everyone is worried, since you've just been shutting yourself in," she answered, kneeling in front of the young red head. Reaching into her dark blue kimono, the brunette produced a handkerchief, handing it to the young girl.

"Thanks, big-sis," Kagura answered in gratitude, dabbing at the clear fluid with the piece of cloth. Handing it back to the young brunette, Kagura felt herself smile at Tae's reassuring presence, her warm brown eyes offering an unspoken comfort.

"No problem. Is everything alright?" Kagura laughed a mirthless laugh at that, torn between spilling all her loneliness and just making up some excuse. The look on the older woman's face showed that she knew full well what was wrong, and so Kagura knew she had no reason to make something up.

"I miss him," she answered, as Tae wrapped the younger girl in a warm embrace. Feeling the tears rising again, Kagura threw her arms around the warm frame of the older girl, just before the tears began to fall once more.

"I'm sorry, big-sis. It seems like I keep messing up your kimonos," Kagura apologized, to which Tae simply shook her head.

"It's alright, Kagura-chan. I understand what it must be like for you," she answered, pulling the girl to her feet before ushering her towards the sofa. As silly as Kagura felt about it, she instinctively grabbed for the white kimono she had tossed to the side earlier, earning a raised brow from the brunette to her right.

Almost like a young child and their favorite blanket, Kagura clutched the white garment to her tightly, Tae's confused quirk turning to a knowing grin at the sight of the young girl. As they took their seats on the sofa, Kagura noticed the knowing look on the face of the older woman, and asked what was so amusing.

"Oh, it's nothing, Kagura-chan. I was just thinking that Gin-san really found a cute girl this time," she answered honestly, earning a blush from the red-head. Casting her gaze down towards the floor, Kagura let her hair cascade down around her face, hopefully hiding the embarrassed expression from the gaze of the older woman.

"I-I'm not that cute, am I?" she asked innocently, carefully turning her gaze towards Otae, who simply leaned down to hug the girl once more.

"Of course you are, Kagura-chan. Why, if Shin-chan hadn't taken you for himself, I would have just eaten you up," At this, Kagura's light blush darkened heavily, wondering if the older girl was serious or just teasing.

"Geez, no fair to tease me, big-sis," Kagura responded sheepishly, as Tae laughed teasingly. The young girl could not help the smile that found its way on her soft features, as she listened to the amused laughter.

"I'm sorry, Kagura-chan. But you really are just too cute. It's no surprise Gin-san is so helpless around you," Tae spoke, turning her teasing to the absent party.

"Big-sis?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks a lot, for coming to visit and all," Kagura spoke honestly, straightening in her seat.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. Everyone was just worried about you, Kagura-chan."

"Everyone?"

"Yeah. All Gin-san's friends really like you, Kagura, so it's not fair to worry them, right? Bad enough that Gin-san gets them all worried," Tae's teasing tone remained in place, but Kagura felt an odd happiness fill her chest, realizing the depth of Gin's gift to her.

Not only had he given her a place in his heart, but he had given her a place in the hearts of all those he knew. Pulling her knees up towards her chest, the young girl rested her forehead on the joints, smiling broadly as she thought of the silver haired idiot.

"He's really not fair, is he big-sis?" she asked, turning her head as Tae cocked her head slightly to the side.

"Not fair?"

"Mm. When he took me clothes shopping, he let me meet all the people he knew, and I didn't even realize it. Has he always been like that?"

"Yeah. That sounds like Gin-san, alright. He's always taking the burden on himself, and doing things the roundabout way. But it always gets the job done," Kagura for all her lack of experience with love could determine the dreamy quality in Tae's voice as she spoke of Gintoki, and her heart began to ache just a bit for her oldest friend.

"Big-sis?"

"Oh, yes Kagura-chan?" she responded, forcing a smile as she looked at the younger girl.

"You love him, don't you?" Kagura asked directly, her mind torn as the words passed through her lips. Part of her wanted to know how the brunette felt, wanted to satiate her curiosity. But another part of her didn't want to know, figured that it was none of her business. That part of her immediately felt bad for asking, as she noticed the forlorn look on the older brunette's face.

"Hmm. I suppose I do," she answered with seeming ease, but Kagura could tell the difficulty behind each syllable. Squeezing her legs tightly with her arms, the young girl wished she knew what to say to comfort the young woman.

"I'm sorry, big-sis."

"Whatever for, Kagura-chan?" Tae asked, honest surprise in her voice as she looked at the younger girl.

"For taking Gin-chan from you," she answered, turning her gaze away from the older woman. Tae simply blinked a few times at the statement, processing the words through her mind. It did not take long for the brunette to burst out into a fit of laughter, clasping her right hand over her mouth as she laughed.

"Oh my, Kagura-chan. How could you come up with something like that?" she managed to choke out between laughs, Kagura's brows quirking up as her eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Well, you love him, but me and him are together, so isn't that like me taking him from you?" Kagura's innocence made Tae's heart swell a bit, ruffling the younger girl's hair as she calmed down.

"Oh, we have been broken up for a while," she responded, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her right eye as she leaned back against the sofa, focus drifting far away, as though recalling some memory.

"What happened?" Silence passed for a moment. Kagura thought for a minute that she had asked something wrong. But finally Tae sucked in a deep breath, letting it out as she let her hands rest in her lap.

"I think I was just not the right girl for Gin-san."

"Not the right girl?" Kagura clearly did not understand what she meant. The brunette turned her focus back to the young girl, her ponytail swaying gently with the gesture.

"I was not always the kindest, brightest girl in town, as I am now," Kagura suppressed the urge to argue with that statement, remembering all the violent acts that had been attributed to Tae over the years. She was well known among the residents of Kabuki-cho as one woman never to be crossed.

"When we were together, I was often violent with him, making an attempt to get him to act right. I never noticed that he was always thinking of others, if it was in his own unique way," That same dreamy quality to her voice, this time laced with something like sadness. A definite melancholy.

"So, before too long, he decided he had had enough, and we went our separate ways. I think I was always subconsciously jealous of his attention on everyone else, wanting that for myself. Selfish, right?"

"No, that's not selfish, big-sis," Kagura answered, shaking her head in a knowing manner. "That's just how I felt when I saw him talking to Tsukuyo that day, and all those other girls," Kagura admitted, clutching the white kimono to her once again as she thought about all the girls in Gin's life. What were they to him?

"But you know what, Kagura-chan?" Tae asked, a sweet, tender tone to her voice that Kagura had only heard when she had spoken to Shinpachi, and those on very rare occasions.

"What is it, big-sis?"

"I think you have something that all the girls in Kabuki-cho would be jealous of."

"What would I have that anyone would be jealous of?" Kagura asked, nervous at the prospect. So many of the girls she had met there had so much in their lives, what would they need to be jealous of in any girl, much less one in her position?

"You have Gin-san," Tae's answer caused Kagura's eyes to widen just a fraction more, wondering what she was talking about.

"W-what do you mean, big-sis? Gin-chan loves everybody, right?"

"Yes, he really does. But, I have seen the way he acts with you, and you definitely have something that all the other girls, including myself would be jealous of."

"What is that?" her curiosity got the best of her, her heart beating at the prospect of knowing such a thing. She truly enjoyed being with Gintoki, and wondered just how deeply their connection was.

"You have his smile. Not the one he gives to everyone, the one that comforts and warms those around him. You have the one that a guy gives to the girl he truly loves, and even if everyone moves on, any guy they meet will be compared to Gin-san in the end," The brunette's answer left Kagura speechless. It had never occurred to her that he acted differently around her than others. He just seemed the kind to be nice to everyone.

"But, you must have gotten that, or even Tsukki," Kagura mused, trying to convince herself that it was not true. Yet, even as she tried to convince herself, she knew that the thought made her heart swell. It made her happy to think that she was so important, so special to her favorite person.

"No, not like he smiles for you, Kagura," Tae finished, sniffling just a bit as she pulled her hands back to her lap.

"Geez, what's going on in here? I leave for a little while and everyone just helps themselves?" Gintoki's unmistakable muttering filled the room, both girls turning their heads towards the front door.

Kagura and Tae blinked in unison, confused on what to make of the sight. Gintoki raised a brow in curiosity at the sight, turning his gaze behind him, wondering if someone had followed him home or something.

"What's wrong, you guys look like you've-" his sentence broke off half way as Kagura seemed to leap from the sofa onto his chest in one motion, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Gin-chan! You're back!" she exclaimed, arms tightly squeezing his neck as she buried her face in his chest. Gintoki shot Tae a confused look, watching as the brunette simply smirked her usual teasing look, as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't ask me. It's your fault for leaving," she answered, slowly making her way towards the front door. The soft scrape of sandals on stone scratched in his ears as he lay at Kagura's mercy, watching as the young brunette stopped just outside the door.

"It's nice to see you, Gin-san," she spoke, voice barely a whisper before bowing away from him and moving on. He watched as best he could as she walked down the small stone path into town, wondering what was happening.

'_Is everything alright?'_ he wondered to himself, catching the hint of almost sadness on the young woman's face as she left. Tossing that notion aside, he felt the world around him beginning to grow blurry.

"Umm… Kagura….chan… you need to … let… go…" he muttered between sputtering breaths, sucking in a deep breath as the young girl pulled her arms from their resting position around his neck.

"Ah, sorry Gin-chan. I-I guess I was just happy to see you," she responded, smiling warmly as he ruffled her soft red hair with his hand.

"W-well, it's good to see you as well, Kagura," he added, smiling warmly as she gazed into his eyes.

"Wait, what are you doing back here, Gin-chan?" Kagura asked, remembering that the conflict had not been resolved. Gintoki's face seemed to contort into one of concentration as he considered his words.

"Well, I was having trouble sleeping. So, once I realized what the problem was, I decided to get out of there, so here I am," he answered, his roguish smirk glued on his face. Kagura's heart skipped a beat at his answer, as it had mirrored her own discomfort.

"A-and, what was the reason you couldn't sleep?" she asked, a bit of hesitance in her voice.

"Well, because I didn't have you there, of course," he answered, wrapping his hands around her waist, pulling her body flush against his. She wondered for a moment if he could feel her heart beating through her chest, but lost her train of thought as he pressed his lips against hers.

"What a stupid reason, Gin-chan," she answered as she pulled away, blushing as she realized their position. Biting her lip, she noticed that her body had taken up a position right on his lap, feeling a certain part of his anatomy responding to her body pressing down on him.

"Well, it's just my own reason," he responded, looking straight into her deep blue eyes as he leaned forward again.

"Mm, Gin-chan. I missed you," she cooed in his ear, throwing her arms carelessly around his neck again.

"I know," he responded, pressing his lips against hers once more. He had been apart from her for only a few weeks, but it had seemed almost a short eternity. With a smirk, he rose to his feet, sweeping her into his arms as he shut the front door. Kagura returned his smirk, and knew exactly what he had in mind. It was really the same thing she had been thinking.

They would definitely be making up for lost time, and they would probably not see the light of day for quite a while.

* * *

**Mixed feelings about this chapter in particular. It was such a pain to get started on for some reason. I had all the ideas in my head, but when it came to type, it all just vanished. So, it is probably not as good as it could be. Any ways I could fix it would be appreciated, and I am not opposed to a bit of editing on this if it is in need. The happy ending aspect is something I just love, so that is how it went. This is the first completed continuous story for any series I have written, so hopefully future attempts will be better. Hope you enjoyed this story, and look forward to more GinKagu fics in the future.**

**A side note, however. Not sure when the final chapter of Family Affair will be published, possibly after I take a break from Gintama fics. I have recently gotten the fires goin again for writing One Piece fics, especially Luffy x Nojiko and Luffy x Boa Hancock. But I might make my first attempt at a non-anime fic first. Again, thanks for the support in writing this, and hope you enjoyed it. For GinKagu fans, do support my buddy Midori-chan's story "Fears of the Heart". She is just starting out, but definite potential. A nice read so far ^_^  
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